bijay sin~gh...devindersingh dugaal lvi.a (ilislol"))_ tvli\.. (economics) 194, udhamsinghnagar...

$: Bijay Sin~gh...DevinderSingh Dugaal lvI.A (Ilislol"))_ tvLi\.. (Economics) 194, UdhamSinghNagar Jullunder Page 3 Page 4 www Preface mouldingthe destiny ofthis region. Atmanyplacesthese$
Kaho Nanak Gur·Bandhan KateyBichhrat aan Milaya

Bijay Sin~gh

[Painful experiences ofwife Shed Kaurand son Waryam Singh - Khalsa remaining steadfastto the high principles ofSikhism even when faced

with greatest of odds...]

Bhai Sahib Bhai Vir Singh

Translated by :S. Devinder Singh Duggal

M.A. (History) M.A. (Economics)

~-~~~~

BhaiVir Singh Sahitya SadanBhai Vir Singh Marg, Gale Market

New Delhi - 110001

Page 1 www.sikhbookclub.com

ISBN: 978-93-80854-17-5

© Bhai VirSingh Sahitya Sadan, New Delhi

4th Edition, 2010

PublishersBhai Vir Singh Sahitya SadanBhai VirSi'1gh MargNewDelhi-110001

PrinterPrint Media1331, Chok Sangatrashan,Paharganj, New Delhi - 110055(m) 9810765258

Price: 64/-·


l-'ranslator's Note

Those ofus, who have had the occasion to read the originalwork of Bhai Vir Singh may be able to appreciate thedifficulty involved in its translation into Englishlanguage, but, not quiteful1y perhaps. When I first acceptedthe assignment, I too did not think it to be as weighty as itlater turned out to be. It is not because that I had not read thebook first but paradoxically, perhaps because tbat I haddone so. Any reader ofBhai Vir Singh is so much carriedaway by his lucidity, sweetness and the total dIect that he iscompletely swept offhis feet. I too was caught in the net ofsuch an enchantment.

When I actually tried to translate its poetic similies,mystical references, folk songs and scriptural quotationsand intricate nan'ations etc. it was only then that Trealizedthe full weight ofthe challenge. And, the anxiety to capturethe total effect and spirit of the original text added to mypredicament. Had I not been fired by the same passions'which had prompted the worthy author to write the book,I might not have succeded in completing thejob. f lowever,ifit helps, even a bit, in the moral regeneration ofthe SikhYouth, I shall feel fully compensated for my labour.

Devinder Singh Dugaal

lvI.A (Ilislol"))_ tvLi\.. (Economics)

194, Udham Singh Nagar

Jullunder


PrefaceHardly any on~ o'nhe few historical accounts ofthe Pu~jabdoes justice to the significant role the Sikhs have played inmoulding the destiny ofthis region. At many places theseaccoucts are in fact prejudiced and erroneous. Much needsto be dor~e to the rectification ofthis balance. An attempthas been made in this book to highlight the role ofthe Sikhsduring a specific period ofhistory, in the hope that it wouldhelp stem the rot that is setting among the Sikhs because ofignorance about their heritage.

Neither any self-interest nor any claim to academicexcellence is involved in this attempt which, at best, is ahumble gesture towards rebuilding the grand edifice oftheSikh Panth to reiterate its original glory. The gesture, Iknow, is no more than that ofthe squirrel who tried to putearth on the bridge ofSri Ram Chanderji, and may be evenmuch less. As a zero (0) acquires great value when, throughthe grace ofLord ofaigrette (Guru Gobind Singh), numeralone (I) is placed before it.

I gratefully acknowledge the help that I received fromthe oral accounts ofsome elderly persons, since head, thetwo Panth Parkash, and histories ofthe Sikhs by Princep.Cunningham, Mohammed Latif, Malcolm, Mcgregor andsome other authors, in writing this book. Some othersources could also be profitably tapped, but as I was in ahurry to meet the Panthic need, I thought it advisable todepend upon the available well-entrenched traditions, I


have tried to join the missing links by gathering information from folk lores and group memories. In my narrativestyles poetic similies and metaphor appropriately used,will refute the charge that the P~..mjabi language is not acultured and developed media. The development of thislanguage would be in the longer interests ofthe country asalso ofour own great community.

More and more people among our ranks are growingoblivious of our glorious past and thus losing theirresilience. This degeneration must be averted. The bookstresses the need of recapturing the divine spirit of theIdeal Man created by Guru Gobind Singh. The Khalsarepresents spiritually elevated people who are blissfullycheerful, fearless, invincible but non-aggressive. The bookhighlights the glorious manner in which ~he Khalsa remained steadfast to its high principles even when facedwith the greatest ofodds Let me hope that it would helpus to re-imbibe among us the Spirit of bravery, humility_compassion and all the divine qualities with which ourforefathers were blessed.

Bhai Vir Singh


Introduction

As a result of the onslaught of British regime, people inIndia, especially in the Punjab, felt demoralised. The seemingly peaceful life was fraught with inner turmoil. Tosecure their interests, the priestly class had to resort toappeasement of the ruling clan. During the reign ofMirMannu, the Governor ofLahore, the Sikhs were persecutedand suffered large scale massacre. Establishment of theSikh rule also demanded supreme sacrifices and the Sild1shad to struggle hard.

Decline and downfall ofthe Sikh kingdom in less thana decade of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's death greatlydemoralised the Sikhs. Christian missionaries" inroadsinto the Sikh society and their attempts at proselytisationgreatly disturbed the Sikh intelligentia. Scholarly personslike Bhai Vir Singh tried to ameliorate the lot of the Sikhmasses by restoring their morale. For this purpose Bhai VirSingh successfully used literature as an ideology in makingappeal to their past through his novels and other writings.Mainly set in the historical milieu of the 18th century ofthe novels ofBhai Vir Singh became powerful vehicle inheralding a new phase of self-consciousness and pride inpast among the Silill community.

Coming soon after Sundri, his first novel, Bij ay Singhappeared in 1899. Briefly the story of this novel revolvesround Bijay Singh, son of a comiier Diwan Lakhpat Rai,turned Sikh. This created panic in the family and none,excepthis wife, welcomed this step. Bij ay Singh leaves thehome along with his wife, Shee1 Kaur, and his young son.The novel vividly portrays the trials and tribulations ofBijay Singh and Sheel Kaur. All the apisodes narrated are


awe-inspiring and reveal the strength ofthe man offaith tobear the tort:.rres. Infatuated with the beauty ofSheel Kaur,Mir Mannu desired to have her in his harem. Begum Muraddoes not cherish this idea. When she meets Shee: Kaur, sheis impressed by her forbearance. The story takes a turnwhen Mir Mannu dies and his son succeeds to the throneunder the regency ofBegum Murad, h!s mother. Later, or.the death ofher son, the Begum begins to rule and marriesfor the pleasure ofthe t1esh. To check the intrigues of thecourtiers she makes a COI!1m0!1 cause with Ahmed ShahAbdali of K.abul. Bijay Singh is seriousiy injured in anencounter with Abdali forces and comes into CO!1tact withhis wife. He succumbs to his wounds and Sheel Kaur alsobreathes her last then and there.

Studded with historical facts the novel deals with thecharacterqua:ities ofvarious people, fanatic and tyrannicalrul.ers, greedy priests, high headed mullahs, helpiess lotof common people and the young men surcharged withpassion to end the tortuous life at the hands ofthe Mughalrulers by joining the Sikhs forces.

Present publication is to introduce the Englishknowing people to the writings of Bhai Vir Singh, thegreat poet-Saint.

It is gratifying that Sri Guru Nanak Satsang Sa~)ha.

Gurudwara Katong, Singapore had decided to pub!ic:seBhai Vir Singh's writings in English and other languageswhich wiB go a 10I!g way in incbding the young men andwomer. the true spirit ofSikhism ar..d inspire them the wayof/ife imbibed by the Sikh Gurus. Bhai Vir Singh SahityaSacan is gtad to associate itselfwith this noble enterpriseofthe Singapore Sanga(

New DelhiNovel~ber, 1983

Harbans SinghHonorary General Secretary

Bhai Vi:- Singh Sahitya Sadan


Bijay SinghCHAPTER]

The city ofLahore, for ages, has been a very important political and cultural centre. A fuller account of itall would require greater span of time and a largercanvas than we have in this book. Here we shaLl confineourselves to the accounts of some of the events thattook place around 1808 and 1809 Bikrami (i.e. 1751 and1752 A.D.)

Having suffered defeat at the hands ofAhmad ShahDurrani, the king of Kabul, Mir Mannu· sued for peacewhich was granted on payment ofrupees fifty lakhs andnumerous other rich contributions. As a result MirMannu was allowed to continue as the ruler of Lahore2

•

By now Maharaja Kaura Mal, a true friend ofthe Khalsaand Diwan Lakhpat Rai, their sworn enemy, after having

1. Mir Mannu whose full name was Mir Muin-ul-Malik, was theson of Wazir Kamur-ud~din and was the ruler of Punjab. In1748 A.D. (1805 Bikrami) he had defeated Abdali during hisfirst invasion of India and on this account had become theGovernor of Punjab. Immediately after the end of the rainyseason, Durrani mounted another invasion and Mannu madepeace with him on payment of the revenue of some of the'Pargnas' (districts). This was the third invasion in 1809,Bikrami (1752 A.D.), some accounts of which an~ given in'SUNDRI'. Maharaja Kaura Mal died during this compaign(1751-52 A.D.).

2. Mohammed Latif: p 224.


2 BIJAY SINGH

played their respective roies in the world, were dwellingin honour and dishonour respectively in the Lord's Court.The Khalsa, now, was left with no real friend in thegovernment. Many a time in the past, Mir Mannu hadavailed himselfofthe help ofthe Khalsa, but that was outof sheer compulsion. OtherwIse, deep down in his heart,he continued to harbour feelings of enmity and hatredagainst the Sikhs, like pockets of poison in a snake.Having escaped unscathed from the impending danger,and becoming the ruler once again, he began to tyrannizeover the Sikhs more than ever before.

At that time there lived at Lahore a person by nameof Chuhar Mal, who, besides being a money lender, alsoheld some office under the government. He was the veryembodiment of corruption, crueity and callousness. Hisson, Ram Lal, was also a government employee who wasthen posted in the Majitha area ofAmritsar.

One day, in the evening there was a great hustle andbustle in the ladies' quarters ofthe house ofDiwan Sahib(ehuhar Mal) who himself, sitting on an Irani carpet wasreclining against a cushion. Facing him was his aging wifewho, sitting on a golden couch, was narrating the detailsof the engagement ceremony of their son. Close by,was their daughter engaged in embroidery, while tbeirdaughter-in-law was sitting wrapped in a beautifJl shawl,and a long veil over her face like the nest of'Bijra'.*Bentover the threshold of the door like jessamine, sheappeared to be talking to the Earth below. Suddenly, a

. maid servant announced the arrival of the family priestwho, said she, 'wished to talk urgently'. Diwan Sahibasked her to lead him there and mear.while another maid

* Bijra an elongated bird's nest.


BIJAY SINGH 3

servant immediately brought a sandalwood chair, and spreadcarpet over it, as the priest stepped into the room. Slim inbody, yellow complexioned and sharp featured: he boresuch an impression on his face as betrayed, to someextent, the cunningness ofhis mind. As he took rhe chair,Diwan Sahib and his whole family paid homage to him. Heblessed them and signalled them to take their seats. Then,he said "Diwan Sahib, I am shocked (pretending to bechoked with emotions, he turned his head aside); 0 Lord,the dark age (KALYUG) has really set in. Shastrasand Vedas had prophesied that the dark age would becalamitous and now we see it come true with our owneyes. The dark age has truely set in, yes, the darkest ofdark ages indeed".

Diwan : (Bewildered) Pundit Ji what has happenedafter all?

Priest : How shall I put it? The moment I heardthis news, I was terribly shocked. 0 Lord, It is a realtragedy.

Diwan : Pundit Ji, for God's sake let me know as towhat has happened? (Meanwhile, Pundit Ji's talk had suchan impact on the women folk that they began to tremblelike a sounding metal disc hit with a hammer.)

Pundit: 0 my Master, what should I say? I don't havethe heart to tell you of such a terrible news, but, for yoursake, I have to do so. ,

Diwan : Pundit Ji, please tell me immediately.With tearful eyes and a choked voice, the Pundit said,

"Being alms giver (Patron) you are just like God to me.Ramlal, Ram Lal, R-.-.-.-.a-.-.-.-.m-.-.-.-L.-.-.-.-.(his voice gets choked).

Diwan: What after all has happened to my dear RamLal? For God's sake let me know immediately.


4 BIJAY SINGH

Pundit: Ram Lal has embraced Sikhism.The news fell like lightning on the whole of the

family: everybody began to cry and the room was filledwith their cries ofanguish. Tears were mIming down theircheeks like monsoon rains and all of a sudden the wholehouse was enveloped in grief. At the sight oftheir distressthe maids also could not restrain themselves and began toweep like flowing fountains,

The Pundit, at first, kept quiet, but, after a while, roseand coming over to Diwan Sahib, said to him consolingly,

. "Be composed Diwan Sahib. Ifyou betray your feelingslike this, you are bound to be in for more trouble,because, if the news gets public and reaches the NawabSahib, then, as you know, there is every danger of all ofyou being absolutely ruined. It is no time for weeping,you should rather think ofways and means to contain therot. At this the crying stopped and, after dismissing themaids on some pretext, they busied themselves in takingcounsel.

Diwan: Pundit Ji, how, after all, has this tragedycome to pass?

Pundit: How else it could be except through evilcompany? Yes, this company alone has undone him. I hadalready advised you against sending him to any place nearAmritsar, because he was bound to be misled there. Howcould he remain unaffected at that place when, even whilehere, he sympathized with the Sikhs? Don't youknow howsympathetically he used to feel for the Sikhs at the timeoftheir last carnage. I had fore-warned you even then, butyou were ofthe opinion that as he became mature, bettercounsel would prevail on him.

Diwan: How to avert this tragedy now? 0 my sonwhat have you done?


BIJAY SINGH -----------, 5

Pundit: First ofall make sure that the news does notreach the Nawab.

Diwan: I am not ip. my senses; you alone should dosomething in the matter, Pundit Ji.

Diwan's Wife: Yes, you alone can come to our help,otherwise, we are ruined.

Daughter: Pundit Ji, save the life of my brother,somehow.

Pundit: Don't you worry, Diwan Ji, send for Ram Lalimmediately through a trusted person and try to bring himround in secret. There is still time for him to see reason.If, however, he continues to stay in the company of thesikhs, then no amount ofadvice would be able to redeemhim.

Diwan: All my servants are at your disposal. Dowhatever you like; I cannot think of any thing at themoment.

Immediately thereafter, the Pundit sent for Ram Lalthrough some trusted persons on the pretext that DiwanSahib was seriously ill and wished to see him and that heshould reach post-haste.

Now as the Pundit came in again, the wife of theDiwan, offered him some gold coins and falling at his feetpleaded with him for the safe conduct of her son to hishouse.

After consoling the members of the family, as thePundit left for his house, the elder son ofthe Diwan camein and hearing the details ofthe happenings pretended toweep in the presence ofthe parents. However, coming tohis wife, he had a hearty laugh and confided to her thatthey would now be the sole heir to the entire property,because one ofthe brothers was mentally retarded and theother now is all but lost. 'The entire property and all thevaluables would now be ours and ours alone', he said.

~x::::


6

CHAPTER-II

BIJAY SINGH

Four days later, the Diwan was slttmg in thecourtyard of his house along with other members of thefamily. He looked like an eclipsed moon among hazystars. Every-body's heart was withered like lotus flowersbitten with frost at Ram Lal's conversion to Sikhism. Forall these days, smitten with utmost grief, they had beeninvoking the divine help. Everybody was afraid that someone may report against them to the Nawab. On the pretextof indisposition, the Diwan had remained indoors all thetime. Ram Lal's mother was more grief-stricken than hisfather, firstly because he was the you11gest of her sonsand secondly his wife, a 'sehajdhari Sikh' , served her verydevotedlly. While her other daughters-in-law treated herjust casually. Ram Lal's wife loved her more than evenher own mother. For these reasor-s, Ram Lal and hiswife enjoyed more love at her hands than did the othermembers of the family.

111is -was the scene into which walked Ram Lal alongwith his wife and son. Thinking his father to be asleep,Ram Lal walked softly but, the Diwan opened his eyes.He was infuriated at the sight of his son. The frail andfeable looking Ram Lal had been transformed into atough and brawny lion-like 'Singh'. It was a completetransfiguration. He could not be recognized from theathletic build of his body and the glow on his face.However, humility in his eyes enabled the Diwan torecognize him to be no other than his own 'unmerited'son, who had endangered the whole family by his conversion to Sikhism. Instead of any feelings of affection for


BIJAY SINGH 7

his son, the Diwan, in extreme anger, addressed himthus,

"0 Ye, accursed fellow, I wish you had never beenborn. It would have been better if either you or yourmother had died before-your birth. May you be destroyedfor having driven me to these straits at this age."

No body could say for how long the Diwan wouldhave continued in this venomous mood but for summonsfrom the Nawab. He changed his dress and went out.Touched by innate love, the mother now embraced her sonand hugging him to her bosom, began to weep copiously.(Joining them) the sister also began to cry. While BijaySingh had not been much affected by the wrath of hisfather, he was deeply touched by th~ love shown to him byhis mother, sisters and brothers. It did not, however, in~

duce any haziness in his mind, deeply imbued ~s it waswith profound religious fervour. After sometime he said,"Mother dear, why after all are you wailing thus?"

Mother: Dear son, it is because you have embracedSikhism.

Son: Is it a sin to be a Sikh?Mother: No, my child, it is not a sin, it is rather a very

good thing.Son: Is there, then, any other defect in it?Mother: No my dear son. It is very virtuous. No

other member of the family is g~fted with those: virtueswith which you hClve been blessed as a result of recitingthe holy hymns of the Great Gurus. You are particularlyendearing when you are reciting these hymns. I amconvinced that this house has been blessed only becauseofyou. Ever since you were born, this house has becomeincreasingly prosperous and (embracing her daughter-inlaw) since the day this dear one stepped in here, our


fortunes have ever been on the ascendence. This (fondlingher grand son) beloved child has brought everything andevery blessing one cou~d dream of.

Son: Why then, dear mother, do thou lament?Mother: One must move according to times. Once a

lion asked a wolf "Does my mouth give a foul smell?"The wolf replied, "Yes, my lord." The lion got angry andsaid, "You accursed fellow, how dare you say such athing to your king." He fell upon the wolf and killedhim. He then asked an ass, "Why 0 boy, does my mouthsmell?" The ass said, "No, no, my lord, your mouth isactually swee~ scented." ':'he lion killed him as wellsaying "You ass, how dare you, tell a lie before a king. rwon't iet you live." It was now the turn ofa fox who wasalso asked the same question by the lion. The fox replied,"0 Sire, Lord, I am suffering from cold. As a resalt ofsneezing my nose has been infected and, as such. I havelost my sense of smell. Had I been better, I would havedefinitely answered your question." Tbe lion laughedand said, "From whom did you acquire this wisdom?"Pointing towards the dead bodies ofthe wolfand the ass,she said "From these dead bodies." My son, the circumstances now are similar. The true and upright Sikhs areas much maltreated by the Turk kings as the Hindusycophants. The wise people like your father adopt themiddle path and as such are comparatively happy.

Son: :;)ear mother, apparently your advice may bequite good and the common sense also counsels ikewise.However, as far as : am concerned, the time has yet tocome which will prove whether =deal with the Turks likedevoted Sikhs or follow the policy of servile flatterers.

Mother: My dear, child, these hair that you havegrown is the rea! cause of our grief. 3aven't you heard,


BIJAY SINGH 9

that in a freshly sown field, many a bird was pickinggrains. When the farmer caught hold of them and wasabout to kill them, one of birds said, "I am neither asparrow nor a parrot and besides, I do not live on grains; Iam a crane living on feed from water. I was here just toplay with these birds'. The farmer told him, "You may beright but as you have been found in their company, you areas much a thief as they"! Similarly my son, the Turkrulers, like the fanner, do ~ot spare anybody. Can you tellme what harm did Bhai Mani Singh do them? In spite ofthe fact that he had the same ~ove for the Hindus and theMuslims both, even then he was cruelly done to death. Forthese reasons, I am really worried about you. However,we have no objection to you persuing the Sikh way oflifewithin the four walls of the house, because, "In secrecylies security."

Son: Dear Mother, your words ofadvice appear to bequite sound but just mark the holy words ofKabir!

"Kabil", I am imbued with love of Him, who is themost wise

Ignorant are they who dissuade me fi~om thispath,

How can I live after breaking away from BinI,who is my very life and soul." (217)

Dear, Mother, "Those who take to dance, discard theveil",

My dear IT!0ther, (With a deep Sigh) 'my heart issuffused with the love of Guru Gobind Singh(KALGIANWALA). His love has permeated my wholebeing and I hear the celestial music of 'Gurbani' alwaysand everywhere. In every leaf, every flower and everyhue I behold his exquisite Divine Form, and I am everdrawn towards it do what I may. As a Sikh, I am aware


_10'--- -=B=IJAY SINGH

of the woes of th~s wor1d and fully realize your anguishand tr..e predicament ofmy father, but a1as, I cannot helpit now. Like a person caug~t in a whirlpool. the love ofmy 'beloved one' fdly envelopes :ne and there is nowish to be out of it. My dear mother, you have onlyheard about Gun Gobind Sir.gh, but, as for me, he is everwithme."

"His face is like mooe., eyes like lotus with a h:lelike antimo:.1y,

~ am so much overwhelmed by His graceful glance,that I am a humble follower ofHim, every bit"

Mother: (Sighi:1g pathetically) It is true my son. Thoseimbued with love are all bu: lost, but let us try to have thebest ofboth the worlds.

Sor..: Do please let me know the way 0' mother, inwhich I may preserve the integrity of rr:.y Faith and thesanctity of my hair till my last breath, without, causingany discomfort to any ofyou.

Mother: Give up the hair and the company of theSikhs and assu:ne the form ofyo:lr fa:her. Tr..en sitting athome, you may do whatever you like.

Son: 0' ~r.other, you !:lave grievously wounded mysou1. Do you expect me to be a hypocrite or :0 give up myhair which are dearer to me than my very life? How can Ithrowaway the crown with which I have been blessed bymy Guru. They are the valuable symbol ofthe love ofourbeloved Guru. \1ay I be dead before it ever comes to pass.The beloved Guru is the very life ofmy life and the verysoul ofmy soul. 0' mother, how can I ever defy the commandments ofGuru Gobind Singh. (With a deep sigh andtearful eyes) May I never live to see such an acc:lrsed day.

Mother: My dear child, how can an obtuse one asstone hearted, appreciate the tender sentiments of Yo:lr


BIJAY SINGH 11

heart? However, I think, true religion lies in heart andneed not be publicly paraded.

Son: The Lord God blessed the world with Tlue Reli··giop. (Dharma) through His blessed souls. Whatever hasbeen ordai~1ed by the holy Guru Gobind Singh is my'Dharma' (true religion).

Mother: Would all those who do not grow hair, hecondemned to hell my son?

Son: I am not aware of it, but, this being the com..mar.d ofmy holy Guru, I mest obey. The beloved Lord hascommanded us to wear hair, how can I dare to go againsthis precepts? "You are my Lord, me a mere imita:ion",says the holy Gerbani. Moreover, the hair add to thebeauty of the body and safeguard the spiritual powers ofhead and heart. They are the gift of our Lord and guidethe destinies of the PANTH. My dear mother, it is verydifficult to be truely religious. I am or..ly trying to followin the foot steps of n~y True Guru. Even an effort in thisdirection is a blessing par excellence. Believe me, if everI am able to imbibe fully the true essence of my Fa:th, it.:would be a very great blessing indeed.

Mother: What do you mean, my son? Aren't you aSikh as yet?

Son: Respected mother, :ar from ::,eing a completeSikh, I am as yet nor worthy ofeven being the shoe bearerof the true Sikhs. Sikhism, 0' mother, is a very exaltedstate and people of the three worlds long to have even aglimpse ofa true Sikh.

Mother: What after all, are you, then?Son: Nly bodyis so completely drawn towards my Lord

that there is no room for even a mustard grain, and mysoul is so thoroeghly attuned to His holy ~eet that only,those blessed with a sense of discerning can perceive it.


12__ BIJAY SINGH

Mother: My dear son, I don't know what to do? ~ can'treally understand what you say?

Son: Imbued not with Lord's love,I ~ 1 .; 1-. 'd' I tn la.se persl:.ts tl:e wort IS os.,Headlong goes it dow:l its doom,Aware not ofDivine love's boon.Mother: It is ~rue, my dear; afterall what do I know

about your rr.ysteries? (with a sigh) I am afraid my lovelychild that you may r.ow become the target ofthe Mughalswho (weepi:lg) may do ~o you what God alone knows? Mydear son, take pity or.. you: aged mother and have a littleregard for her love for you. Sitting at home, you mayoffer anything in charity, spend any amount to suppo~ theSikhs and their sabts and do anything else that you maylike. If you engage you:self thus b your religion wO:lldnot you: Gura be pleased then?

Son: Why not? But, mother:"Ifmoney could such love purchase.Why his head then Ravana gavel?Ofmoney he was never shortHimselfbeing a prince and lord".Mothe:: I wish I were dead before hearing such words.

I have ever been praying fo: your welfare and nowyou talk in terms of laying down your life. Be welladvised, my SO!1 and leave this difficult Path. You shouldlearn a lesson from 'Dhru' and 'Pra.1.1ad'. Besides, you arean eye wit:less to the grirr. tragedy of Bhai Mani Singh.My very heart sinks even at the thought of the miserablecondition of Bhai Ta:oo Singh's mother. This is a veryvery dangerous Path, rhy dea: sor.----~------ --- -,----1. It is said that Ravana gave his head to propitiate Lord Shiva.


BIJAY SINGH 13---_.~_-

Son: "IfI have to traverse oceans,Hills, forests and indeed the entireUniverse to attain to tee loveOfthe Lord, I will do it as happily asIf! were taking but one step".Mother: Why, my son, are you so crazy after all?

I do not intend to check you from a good cause; myonly concern is that you should not publicly parade youraffiliations with Sikhism. You may engage yourself incharity and meditation etc. This also brings happiness andgood name.

Son: (With a deep Singh) 0' my mother,"Meditation, re±1ection and moderation,Comforts, honour and approbation,All these treasures, in a trice,For Lord's love, I'll sacriSce."Mother: (Despairingly) God k.rlOWS, why are you so

enamoured of it, when everybody treading this Path isknown to have come to grief.

Son: "The canopy oflove spreadsacross the Sky (heart),However, love lorn beetle (mind) remainsattached to Lotus (lord)"Mother: This also appears to be a craze like that of a

drunkard, otherwise, why aren't people like us attractedby it? Alas! my son, you seem to have lost your head. Tryto be a bit more sensible.

Son: Dear mother, the holy Scriptures say, "Let thehomes and hearths in which the Lord does not dwell beburnt to ashes, because in 6eir loss does not lie ourruination. It lies in our alienation from Lord God." Howcan yO-:l enjoy the divie.e bEss, unless you recognize yourtrue destiny through the grace of the Lord of aigrette

~_-~ -----Page 21 www.sikhbookclub.com

14 BIJAY SINGH

(Guru Gobind Singh) "Those who are g:fted with, thedivine love, ever eo they dwell upon his feet,' Says Na:lak,those who feel t!le pa:lgs of such a love, they go not anywhere else.

Mother: A:i my efforts to deissuade you from thisPath seem to have been ofno ava:l.

My dear child, do not try to scale these peY'i~ous

heights and walk on this dangerous Path. You should meditate on your G~ru secret:y beca1.:se you are st:ll a child. Ifyo:.! are found out, there w:ll be no escape for you. Howwould you save yourseifthen?

Son: Dear rr..06er, I am aware ofall this, but "Howsoever grave the danger and howsoever restless ar..d helplessthe mine; (by tl1e grace of the true Guru) the humiiity :sultimately recompensed like tl:e 10t1.:s in the mud."

Sister: How is it, dea~ brother, that you refuse to hearthe remonstrations ofmother? Yo~ have always been verydocile a:ld dutiful.

Brothe~: Dear sister, I cae't help it now. "In Lo~d's

love am I, so completely, lost. Unmindf.ll am I, now, ofaaaware:less and thought"


B/JAY SINGH

CHAPT1£R -111

15

Overwhelmed with grief, the mother now hugged herson to her bosom and began to cry copiously: with tearsstreaming down her eyes, she said to him. "Take pity onthy aged mother, my dear child. Take pity on me."

The young Sikh also could not restrain himself andwith tears in his eyes told his mother, "Dear mother, foryour sake, I promise to remain indoors. You can ear-marka room for me on the first floor. I will avoid going out andmeeting people so that you may not have to face anydifficulty on my account. However, under no circumstances, I would forsake my religion to save my life,which, after all, is only transitory."

Mother: My dear child, I am really grateful to youfor agreeing to do even this much for me. But wouldn'tyou feel too lonely then.

Son: No, my mother, I am rather happy to be alone.My SATGURU is ever with me.

Everybody seemed ~o be satisfied with this makeshift arrar..gement. :Nleanwhile, however, accompanied bythe family priest and his elder son, the Diwan arrivedthere and said, "Accursed Ram Lal, get out of rr.y houseand don't ever try to come here again."

Pundit: What has gone wrong with you, Ram Lal,being of a princely stock, you have degraded yourself.You may yet redeem yourself by forsaking Sikhism.

Mother: Pundit Ji, you cannot wash blood with blood.Let us be a little more considerate and affectionate. RamLa1 has agreed to stay at home in secret. I will arrangethings in such a way that he doesn't have to go out. If


16 BIJAY SINGH

you turn him out, he is bound to go straight into the jawsof death. It is better to be wiser about it.

Pundit: This could be feasible, but the time for anysuch secret arrangement is now past, because the Nawabhas already come to know of it, and ahs told the DiwanSahib that Ram Lal should either cease to be a Sikh or heshould be handed over to him. With great effort, he wasprevailed upon to concede only this that in case Rare Lalrefuses to relent, then he must be turned out ofthe house.

Mother: Ah! I am all but dead, Pundit Ji, take pity onme. I can't stand my son rolling in dust. 0' my God, whatshould I do?

Diwan: Have you lost your head? The infected part ofthe body must be amputated to save the rest. In order tosave the entire family, its honour and its wealth it wouldbe appropriate to sacrifice Ram Lallike an infected part.

Mother: 0' my God! You compare this pious soul,our only support in the next world, with an infected part ofthe body. He, my dear child, is the pride ofthe family,

Diwan: You appear to have lost your senses. If youdon't see reason I wil have your head shaven and tum youout ofthis house as well.

Son: (Falling at the feet ofhis mother)Dear Mother, please do not, have yourself insulted

for my sake. Whatever fate has ordained for me mustcome to pass. You need not worry because you are blessedwith two more sons. Let me be taken as dead. After ail themothers who lose their sons, also abide in the will ofGod.

Mother: May the other sons have a long life. But, mydear son, how would I be able to live without you? You arethe very source ofmy life, my dear child.

Elder son: Mother, why can't you be a little mOl'ewise? Must all women be fools? In view of the danger


BIJAY SINGH 17

looming large over us, you must pray for the welfare ofthe rest of the family.

Mother: Ram Lal, if you leave me I shaH be as ac~

cused as a barren woman is. The pangs ofseparation shallever consume me like the fire ofa pyre and, day in and dayout, I shall cry in anguish.

Diwan: Don't be fool, otherwise, you may have toface the gallows alongwith your son.

The two sisters of the young Sikh had been cryingbitterly all the time. Catching hold of his hands, theypleaded with their brother thus, "We are just like yourcows, whom you must feed. You must heed your fatherand serve us aU from utter ruination."

Like the rest ofthe family the maid servants, who hadever enjoyed favours at his hand, were also crying inanguish. The Diwan was highly enraged, while the pundit,though pretending to be distressed, was not much concerned. The elder son kept watching everybody in awe andanger.

Mother: My dear son, I plead with you in the name ofthe Lord of aigrette (KALGIANWALA), to agree to mysuggestion. I beseech you in His Holy Name.

The moment the young Singh heard the plea in theName of the Lord of aigrette (Guru Gobind Singh), hewas totally confused and confronted with a moraldilemma. Ifhe turned down the plea made in the Name ofthe Guru, he could be accused ofbetraying Him and ifheaccepted the plea then he was sure to be condemned as anapostate. 'What should I do', he thought? This conflict andthe love of his mother as well as the affection of hissisters so overwhelmed him that he fell down in a swoon.

Such was the challenge and trial that our forefathersfaced when they chose to adoptSikhism. And this treasure


..1L- . ~ , BIJAY SINGH

is being frittered away by us at the alter ofmaterial gainsand lust. May the Great Guru, save us.

The swooning ofRam Lallead a scene ofgreat panic.The maids rushed to sprinkle rose water on Ram Lalwhich helped him to regain his consciousness. Guided byher materna~ i:lstinct, his mo~her grasped the hand ofherson and caressingly said, "My dear son, I withdraw myplea in the Name of the holy Guru. Now, Ie! you bestrong."

Ram Lal was hardly on his feet again, when the Diwan,taking him by an arm, told him to get out of t!.1e housewithout any more deiay.

As Ram La! took a step forward his wife and sonrushed to him. Grasping her arm, t!.1e Diwan told hisdaughter-in-law, that she could p-ot go. The faithful wifehowever, freed her arm and followed her husband. Jus!then, the mother said, "Wait a little, my son". Holding himby his arm, she made him sit down alongwith her. Tearfully she said to him, "You should have killed me beforeleaving this place. At your hands I would have been redeemed in my next world. N0w you must, at least, leaveyour wife and son behind."

Son: They belong to you, lily dear mother, you maykeep them with you.

Wife: (pleading with folded hands) Respected mother,Please excuse me and let me go. I cannot remain away fromhim, and shall accompany him wherever he may go.

Mother: My dear daughter, who shall ~ook after me.Daughter-in-law: But, respected mother, what would

I do without my lord? I have great regard for you, but,being the servant ofmy lord, how can I live ir. comfort athome, when, I should be sharing the suffering ofmy dearhusband? How can a part separate itself from a whole?


BIJAY SINGH 19

In him alone lie both my worlds, here and hereafter; he ismy partner in comfort and care and he is my only supportin all circumstances; he is my very own, as such, how canI separate myself from my ownself?

Diwan: 1t :s truly said that the company ofthe sikhs islike a sharp sword; that is why, this girl is so out··spoken.Let us keep the child back and let her get out ofhere alongwith her husband.

The Child: No, Grand Fa', I will not stay back. I willbe where papa and mummy are.

Diwan: Why, 0' little kid?The Child: How shall I feed myself ifthey are away?Pundit: You blockhead, won't you get food at the

Diwan Sahib's house?The Child: Everybody smokes here. How can I take

my meals from them, and who shall sing to me the holyhymns? Who shall relate to me the stories of the Lord ofaigrette (Guru Gobind Singh).

Diwan: (Striking his head in great despair) Alas!, thewhole lot is irredeemably lost.

Diwan's wife: (Lifting her grand son and caressinghim) why don't you stay with me, my dear? I shall cookyour meals.

The Child: But then you shall ask me not to grow myhair, which I must grow. Besides, how can I live away frommy father who enjoys the blessings of the Lord of aigrette. How can I forsake my mother who relates to methe life-stories of Guru Nanak Dev ji?

Diwan's wife: You, the very incarnation ofall that isdivine, take me, the meritless one, also with you. Youare divinely blessed, take pity on me and let me also,accompany you.


20 BIJAY SINGH

Diwan: (Disengaging his wife's hand in great anger)Get back, you blockhead, and (to his son and daughter-inlaw) get out ofhere forthwith.

Diwan's wife: (Taking hold ofa knife lying close by)My dear son, if go you must, then you must kill mefirst. (Running after him, she catches up with the youngSikh in the doorway and thrusts the knife in his hands).Relieve me of this wretched life; how can I survivewithout you? Ah! I am being robbed ofmy kith and kin,and no body makes a bid to save me. Let somebody bringashore the fast drowning ship ofmy family. (Crying thusin anguish, she digs the knife in her stomach and begins tobleed profusely. Immediately, thereafter, she began tofeel giddy and then fell down unconscious). The elderbrother pushed the Singh (Ram Lal), his wife and his sonout ofthe house and closing the door behind them boltedit from inside.


B/JAY SINGH

CHAPTER-IV

21

Ram Lal for his parents but Bijay Singh for the Khalsa,after leaving his house alongwith his wife and son, passedthrough the deserted bazars of the city of Lahoreand reached the house of a person, who, though not abaptised Sikh, yet lived like one; the only thing he lackedwere the hair. This pious person provided shelter to theSikhs in his house in their hours of need. Although, hesincerely wished to grow hair like aU baptised Singh, yet,with a view to be ofsome help to them he decided to livelike a Sehajdhari Sikh, for the time being, hoping toachieve his goal in the next birth. In those days therewere a large number such persons who believed in theSikh tenets yet did not adopt the form of the baptisedSikhs and preferred to live like Hindus, so that they couldbe ofsome help to the' Singhs' in times ofdifficulty. Forany religious lapse on their part, they used to presentthemselves before the Panthic congregations volunatrilyand gladly accept any corrective - penalty imposed onthem.

When Bijay Singh reached this house, Leela Ram,the owner, received them very warmly and lodged them insuch a portion of the house, which was neither easilyaccessible nor easy to locate. Taking bath, everybodyengaged himselfin reciting holy hymns from Guru GranthSabib after which they had their meals. At nightfall, while discussing the difficult times which the Sikhswere then living, it came to be known that order forthe forcible eviction of Sikhs from the city of Amritsarhad been passed and all those areas which the Sikhs had


22 B/JAY SINGH

freed were being reoccupied. Flag marches of the Armywere taking place in all parts ofthe Punjab and at variousplaces army pickets were established in improvised :!:luts.In view of these difficulties, all such bands of the Sikhswhich had been able to assert their authority and had beenoffering stiff opposition, had now vanished into deeprecesses ofwastelands, woods and hiH fastnesses. However, the poor Sikhs leading settled family life were notable to escape the wrath oftne ruler.

Gajjan Singh: Have you heard about the tragedy ofthe day?

Majja Singh: No sir, what has happened?Gajjan Singh: 'Wahe Guru', (Glory be to God) Sajjan

Singh has been martyred.All Singhs: What? Has 'Btai Ji' (Brother-in-Faith)

left us?Gajjan Singh: Let me relate to you the details ofthis

grim tragedy. For full five days Sajjan Singh was kept aprisoner a!ongwith his wife and children and not a morselof food was given to them. For all these days, they hadbeen starving and the condition of the poor children hadbeen particularly agonizing. However, all of them boreit most bravely and did not lose heart, so much sothat evcn the jailer was all praise for them. This morningall of them were brought to the 'Mandi'. First of allthe two sons were killed right in the presence oftheir parents, then, the wife of Sajjan Singh was put todeath and thereafter he himself was most mercilesslymartyred. His hands and feet were first bound with atree to prevent any movement on his part. 0' my God, allthose who were present there, were awe-stricken. Seeingthat, everybody was convinced that the days of theMughals are now numbered. Most of t!le people could


EJIJAY SINGH 23----- --------....;...not stand the ghastly sight and turned away. But, my Lord,with what a devotion 'Bhai Ji' kept reciting the holyhymns. Alas, his voice was at last stilled. Blessed is hethat he remained steadfast in his Faith right upto his lasthair and final breath.

Everybody was horrified to hear about this horribletragedy. All of them were in tears and highly enraged.But, for the time being what could not be cured had tobe endured.

Ajja Singh: Singh Ji, how after an was 'Bhai Ji' (SaijanSingh) arrested?

Gajjan Singh: Through that ghost of a fellow, whoproved a traitor.

Bijay Singh: That one? Is he so bad? I did have somemisgivings about him, but it is only to-day that I haveknown him in his true colour, 0' God the wolves aremasquerading in sheep's clothing.

Dili Bhan Singh: .Khalsa Ji, we must take it bravely. Itis the will of our Guru that his followers should bemartyred at the hands ofthe Mughals so that their regimecollapses vitiated fror.:l within by these brutal deeds.

Mughal Daman Singh: That may be true, but, for howlong more shall it go on? The Sikhs are being killed inLahore and their children are being cruelly persecuted.The Khalsa is obliged to retire to the jungles while theirkith and kin left behind, are being victimized in a viciousfashion.

Bijay Singh: L.:;t us devise some means to unite thewhole Panth. (Repeated knocks aNhe door)

What is this? The doors ofthe house are being knocked- at. Lala Leela Ram now came running and gasping for

breath said, "Khalsa Ji, immediately leave this place,otherwise, we will be doomed, because, the government


24 BIJAY SINGH-------_._--- ----_..=,.;.;;;.;...:.:.-=-"=';.:.

seems to r..ave got wind of you. The house has alreadybeen surrounded by the army units, both on horse andon foot.

Raga Singh: So what? We will fight them?Lala Ji: True, but it is advisable to let this house

remain a secret cell for the khalsa, so that it could beavailed of in times of emergency. Otherwise, at Lahoreyou will be left with no shelter whatsoever. '

Bijay Singh: Let us then be led to some exit towardsthe back ofthe r..ouse dear benevolent Sir.

La~a· Ji now walked concentrating hard towards acavity in the staircase and pulled out discarded and brokenpieces of some old articles, including sacks and rags. Itrevealed a stone slab which fitted perfectly into the cavitylength and breadthwise but seen only when carefullyexamined, beca:lse of its earthly hue. It was now clearedof the dust. By inserting a rod in a small hole in thewall and applying on it a little pressure, the stone slabwas lifted and then moved aside by two of the persons.There was an iron sheet underneath, which also had ahole in it, in which a small needle was inserted and thenrotated. The sheet got divided into two parts, which sliddown along the wall. Underneath below seem~d to lie awell. With great skill, Lala :;i helped all of them toclimb -down and then made them swear that they willkeep the knowledge of this tunnel a complete secret.Providing them with two small lamps, he directed them togo straight ahead and not to turn to their right becausethat side, he told them would lead to the For and hadbeen blocked from outside. Going straight ahead, at somedistance he told them, they would come across astone with a small hole in the middle. By inserting asmall rod in t~e hole, the stone would slide back into


BIJAY SINGH ------.- 25

wall. Behind, would be a small mound of earth. A littlepush and it would fall apart, making way for them to goout of the tunnel. They should then pull out the stonefrom inside the wall and when it clicked, it would be anindication that the door had been closed. They shouldthen cover it with earth and go their way. Bidding farewell,the Khalsa walked down the tunnel and Lala Ji againclosed the small hole in such a perfect manne~ thatno trace was left of it. After replacing' against it thediscarded articles, the Lala retired to his room. He hadcompleted the process with great skill and dexterity.Army units outside the house were getting restive, completely unaware ofwhat had happened inside. By now, themain gate had been opened and the soldiers had stormedinto the front yard, with the obvious connivance of thenew servant who had turned an informer. He must haveentered LalaJi's service with this very purpose. However,Lala Ji was too shrewd and too alert to fall a victim tosuch a conspiracy. From the very first call, he could makeout that the Army units of the Turks were there and thatwas why he had acted with such speed. A little delay couldhave spelled disaster.

Now, i.,eelaRam's servant, who had accompanied thetroops, and two ofthe Army Jawans knocked at the doorof his bed room, calling upon him to open the doorwithout any delay. At the same time, he heard one ofhisloyal and sincere sprvants telling the Army Jawan that asLala Ji was not feeling well, he might have gone to sleep.The Lala now opened the door and stepped out, rubbinghis eyes after hastily covering the lower part ofhis bodywith half ofhis 'dhoti' and spreading the other half overhis head. As ifbewildered on seeing the soldiers, he askedthem, as to what had happened? One of the soldiers told


_26 ~_ _=B=IJ;;::.!A=Y........:::;;SI:::.;N::..::G=11.

him that there was a complaint against him that a largenumber of Sikhs were hiding at his place. It was for thisreason that the soldiers had raided his house. He wasfurther asked to accompany them to the outer courtyardwhere the 'Ko'tyval J was waiting for him.

Leela Rat:l: It is prepostrous. Sikhs and in my house?3ut, truth need not fear; as SUCh, why should-I be scared?Let me first dress up.

Soldier: No, you must accompany us forthwith.Leela Ram: Very well.He accompanied the Jawan silently and, on reaching

the courtyard, paying formal tributes to the kotwal, keptstanding. Looking discreetly around, he could feel thatguards had been posted on every balcony, every doorand every exit of the house. The Kotwal, who otherwisehappened to be his friend, was in a rage like a swollenriver and threatened t.o engulfthe entire Haveli (House).

Kotwal: Although you are my friend, yet politicaloffences are unpardonable. I may be obliged to resort toforce, otherwise, you should have the Sikhs arrested.

:'eela Ram: You are like a king to me and I am a mereservant. My house is completely at your disposal. Youmay search every nook and c,orner of it or I can lead youto any particular place you may ask me to go. If even asingle Singh is found hiding in my house, I shat: submit toany punishment that you may pr~scrib~ for me. Evenotherwise, I cannot take any exception to what you may doto me. But this appears to be a malicious attempt by someinimical person to harm me. However, whom "God dothpreserve, no harm can ever come" to :'lim.

Kotwal: Why should there be ar.y need for a search?Ifyou have them arrested yourself, I shall treat them with


BIJAY SINGH 27-----~-_.

moderation, otherwise, they would be dealt with veryseverely. We have very solid information with us.

LeelaRam: Ifthey are taking shelter in my house andI am trying to shield them, then, I am certainly guilty. But,when they are not there, how can I help? However, itwould be better ifyou satisfy yourselfpersonality.

Now, a thorough search of the house, including itsrooms, basements, cellars, yards and every comer waslooked into, but, there was not a trace of the Sikhs. TheKotwal though fully satisfied was yet reluctant to leavesuch arich establishment empty-handed. A petty revenueofficial from Delhi pretending to sympathize with LeelaRam advised him to make suitable offerings to the mem··bers ofthe contingent purportedly for the inconvenienceto which they had been put at that odd hour. Henceforth,he told him, any petty complaint against him would bebrushed aside and the government would also be informedabout his innocence in this case. On this, LeelaRam sentfor a trayf.l1 of gold coins which he presented to the

. Kotwal, who affecting reluctance, said that how could heaccept illegal gratification from his close friend.

Leela Ram: Had I been found guilty then it wouldhave been an illegal gratification. It is meant only for alittle refreshments for the soldiers. The Kotwal nowhanded over the amount to the revenue official, pretending at the sametime, reluctance to accept it like a 'Hakim J

(Doctor). Thus, like a whirlwind, they left after reducing ahappy home to shambles. Thereafter, the government wasapprised the non-involvement ofLeela Ram. The informer,instead being penalised for misleading, was given a smallreward so that he could continue to work as a spy.

·-$XC


_2_8__~~,~~_~ B/JAY SINGH

CHAPTER-V

Let us now see what happened at the other end. Walking underground, the Khalsa had to pass through a veryold tunnel. The narrow low passage and with both endsclosedmade breathing so painful. It was only the instinctof self-preservation which goaded them onto the otherend, where, working on the instructions of Leela:Kam they opened the way. Emerging out, they foundthemselves at a deserted place. After closing the mouthofthe tunnel with the stone, they did not know which wayto go. Moving a EttIe fu~her ~hey sat down to decideabout it. Nobody had any idea of the place where theywere or the directio~ they should have followed. At lastputting their faith in their Guru they walked on. They hadhardly covered a little distance, when, in the moon light,they saw a mud hut with a guard at its door.*At the soundof the footsteps, he raised an alarm and almost instantaneously a large number of soldiers came out of the hut.Crying aloud, "The Sikhs have come, the Sikhs have come",they fell upon them. The unfortunate Sikhs were caughtunawares, but, having been blessed with courage andconviction, they refused to accept defeat. They d~ew outtheir swords and gave a good fight, in which both thesides tried to get the better of other. It was an absolutelyunequal battle with a ratio offifty to one against them, buteven then, the Sik~s, as ever, came out with flying colours.At last the enemy soldiers, feeling nervous, slipped aside

* T!lis was an improvised police picked mea:1t for killing theSikhs. In those days many such pickets were establis~ed.


BIJAY SINGH 29

and the Sikhs also accelerated their pace in the directiont.hey were taking. The enemy soldiers headed towards theopposite direction. Thus, both the sides, anxious to disengage, started running~ Bijay Singh could not keep pacewith his fellows·.jn-faith, because his wife having beenwounded in stomach had lost consciousness. Taking heraside, he attended on her. Having been brought up inluxury, she was the very embodiment of beauty, anddelicacy and it was the first time in her life that she had toface such difficulties and distress. Like a sudden storm ina calm ocean, it was a day ofgreat distress in !ler life. Theheart-rending attitude ofthe family members, the forcedexpulsion from the house, the tragedy of the previousnight, coupled with the stress ofthe journey and finally anarrow escape from the enemy attack was too much for adelicate lady like her. It was her firm conviction in her'Faith' which proved to be her anchor now. Through theefforts of her husband, she finally regained conscious~

ness. The wound, was not very deep, yet a hard blow withthe butt of the gun had completely un-nerved her andshe had fallen flat under its impact. When she gainedconsciousness, the couple found the field quite deserted,with the dead bodies of many a Sikh and Turk, lying allaround. Taking advantage of the situation, the prudentBijay Singh collected a couple ofswords, daggers, a gunand some ammunition and headed towards the NorthWest. Although his wife could not walk properly, yet thesense ofself-preservation, continued to goad them on. Bydawn, they had travelled about seven miles. Some villagesdid lie on the way but they always bypassed them. By thetime they reached a jungle, the sun had risen in the sky.The jungle, for them was like a fort and they decided totake rest at a heavily shaded grassy spot. Very soon they


30 alJAY SINGH

were fast asleep after the manner of a father 'who hadmarried off his daughter or a horse-dealer who had soldoff his stock. Normally after such an exhaustion, sleepdoes not come easily, but as they were deeply religiOl:swith full faith in HIS WILL, very soon, they were as fastasleep as INDRA, the god, sleeping on his throne.Under the influence of a very gentle breeze, they feltrelaxed and refreshed.

Getting up a little before dawn, they bathed t!lemselves in a nearby pond and satiated their hunger by eatingthe fruits of a 'ber' tree (Zizyphus Jujuba). Bijay Singhhad a mind to spend a couple of days in this very woodbut spying some Turk soldiers on the nearby track, hecame to the conclusion that the place was not very safeand hence left it a little before twilight. By the dayfall,they had arrived at the bank of a river. The receding san,the rising river and the fast descending night combined tocreate such an eerie atmosphere that one felt queer creepsin the body and had a paralysing sense of despair. Justwhen they were losing ali hope"their eyes sparkled to seea boat, which though not yet filled to capacity, was beinglowered into the river. On a call from Bijay Singh, theboatman paused, waited for them to board and ferriedthem across the river. Having no change with them, tookthe boatman aside to give him one of the gold coin(Mohars) which Sheel Kaur took out from a money bagtied to her waist. Hardly had they taken a couple ofstepswhen they were surrounded by the fee collectors, followedby a number of soldiers who arrested their crying aloud."The accursed Sikhs, the accursed Sikhs." Through theirsearch, the Sikh family was divested ofeverything including ornaments and gold coins. However, two rings escapedthe attention of the soldiers who also overlooked their


BIJAY SINGH--- 31

swords. Leading them ahead, the soldiers threw them intoa small hut which afterwards they bolted from out side.Darkness descended on the hut in all its frightfulnessand an omnious silence prevailed all around. While sinfulworld appeared to be quite at rest and every happinessseemed to dwell with the tyrants and the traitors, embodiments of righteousness and Truth, were having verymiserable time during this eI?-dless night. The people indistress manage to pass their time counting the stars, butthe brave sons of Guru- Gobind Singh were locked in aplace where they could not avail even such a means tobeguile times. However, the holy Gurbani ofthe Guru lentsolace to the suffering souls. When Bijay Singh and his

. family began reciting the holy hymns, they heard someone uttering the holy words "Guru, Guru", in great pain.The startled couple opened their eyes but could see nothing in the darkness; Turning around they saw someonebringing a lamp through the door which was now open.Who could be the person with lamp, they thought? 0 itis our own son, Waryam Singh. When the couple wasengrossed in prayers the little pious soul, managed toopen the room by passing his slender arms through a slitin the doors. Although his anns got injured in the attempt,yet he succeeded in unbolting the door. All through, thecouple was neither aware ofthis attempt nor did they hearthe holy word 'Guru' being uttered by someone. Theyoung child, however, had heard these words and on opening the door he found the guards fast asleep, being deaddrunk. At that the child brought the lighted lamp fromtheir bronze lamp-stand. Touched by his gallant effort inthe tradition ofa true SHill, the father kissed his forehead.In the light ofthe lamp, he saw that about halfthe hut wasbesmeared with the blood of a wounded woman who,


32 BIJAY SINGH

lying close by was on her last breath. Like the dying flameof a lamp, she would at times, gain a little strength toutter the holy words, "Blessed Guru, Blessed Guru," butimmediately thereafter, she would fall back exhausted.The child brought some water in a bowl to his father whoreciting the first stanza of lap Sahib, dipped his swordinto it and then put some ofthis holy water into the mouthofthe dying soul. As the water went down her throat, thedying woman gained some consciousness and openedher eyes which were eloquently grateful. Next, the fastcollapsing woman, like the true Sikh, managed to gathercourage and in a sweet low voice said, "Blessed indeed isGuru Gobind Singh who has sent someone to take care ofme in my last moments." Shed Kaur who all the time, hadbeen watching the dreadful sight with pain and anguish,now asked, "Mothe~, what has happened to you?"

Woman: My child, my husband and myselfhad hardlycrossed the river when the Turks surrounded us. Myhusband killed five of.them in the ensuing fight, but beingoutnumbered, he was ultimately overpowered and throwninto the river. Two more soldiers were slain by me, whi~eanother was grievously wounded at the hands ofour son.However, the accursed enemy then killed my son, robbedme ofornaments and threw me here in a seriously woundedcondition. Since about dusk, I have been strugglingbetween life and death, but, great indeed is our Guru who,in his mercy and compassion, had sent you at a time whenI was dying of thirst. My dear children, I have nowreceived the divine Command for my final departure andwould soon be gone. Already I see the light ahead, yesthe true light. My Children, defend the treasure of yourFaith, even with your lives. Better be dead than lose yourFaith."


BIJAY SINGH 33

With these words she departed on the wings of hertrue Faith, and the dying flame was extinguished for ever.The exertion involved in speaking had opened the woundin her side, which had started bleeding again, and thishastened the flight of the woul bird out ofthe cage ofthebody.

Bijay Singh, now forgot his own troubles and did noteven care to make good his escape through the open door.All that he cared for, at the moment, was to cremate thedead body, lest it be desecrated. He gathered around thebody some flamable material in the form ofthree or fourcots and some straws lying in the hut and set them on fire.The three of them then bid farewell and slipped away.When the guards, who had been asleep all the time underthe influenceofintoxicants, opened their eyes at daybreak,they saw the entire hut in flames. Their own cots thoughat a distance were also beginning to be affected by thespread offire. They got up in panic and seeing the scene,started abusing the Sikhs. None of them tried to put outthe flames, because they did not mind the destruction ofthe government property. Moreover, they could not doanything. From the day's plunder, they had enough andto spare to propitiate their officer (Jamadar) and hence,they were not much concerned. Meanwhile, they werejoined by some more soldiers from the neighbouringpickets. All ofthem were amazedat the daring exploits ofthe Sikhs and were all praise for their manly courage.


34

CHAPTER-VI

BIJAY SINGH

When Bijay Singh left the house, his mother lay withthe wound from the knife. It was caused in the stomach,a sensitive part of the body, but, fortunately, it did notprove fatal. Although for the time being Chuhar Mal wasvery much offended with his wife, yet; he had always hada great regard for her prudence. On all domestic matters,he always sought the advice ofhis wife who was also veryoften, consulted on political matters as well, for her soundsagacity. On her being wounded, many a renowned physician was called for her treatment. The wounds got healedin about a month's time, but the separation of her sonhad left such a pang in her heart that it even burnt likea funeral pyre. She did attcnd to her household chores,but, the thought of her son always tortured her and theecho of his sweet voice always rang in her ears. Whena boy in the neighboured recited JAPJI (holy Gurbani)like Bijay Singh, she was deeply touched by his voice.Ultimately, she bought a hand-written copy of Sri GuruGranth from a calligrapher, installed it in a comparativelyinaccessible place in her house and by offering to meethis expenses, she persuaded the boy to recite to her, daily,the holy hymns from the Holy Book. This led to a gradualdetachment on her part from the world and she becamemore of a rcligious woman. Now, she loved Bijay Singhmore than ever before and had a better appreciation ofhis unshorn hair which, hitherto, she had attributed tohis whim. She was ever thinking about the ways to obtainsome information about her son. At last she came to theconclusion that the family priest was the most suitable


B/JAY SINGH 35

person for such a purpose. She knew about his cunningnessbut hoped to bring him round by the temptation ofwealth. Calling him in one day, she offered him a handsome amount to placate him and thereafter franklyasked him to locate her son so that she may be able tosend him some money through him. He was furtherrequested to persuade her son not to come into the opentill the stonn blew over and she was in a position to callhim back home.

At first, the pundit said that it was a very difficulttask, but ultimately agreed to try as best as he could andassured the lady that he had every hope to be successful inthe matter. At this, she gave him two thousand rupees inadvance. A fortnight later, the Pundit came to infonn herthat he had been able to locate Bijay Singh. The love-lornmother, giving him about a thousand gold coins and somediamonds, pleaded with him to hand them over to her sonin distress. The Pundit assured her in the name ofGod theholy cow and the Shastras that he would comply with herwishes. However, bringing the articles home, he buriedthem in deep pit and the very next day started in searchofBijay Singh.

By then, the Sikhs had again became very active,particularly in the areas lying between river Ravi andBeas. On the other hand, Mir Mannu had also let loose areign of terror on them and they were being mercilesslykilled. Every day a number of Sikhs were brought toLahore and put to the sword on which account, they hadbecame the talk of the town. Mannu had a feeling thatAdina Beg was cunning with the Sikhs and hence, heinstructed him to be tough with them and extenninatethem root and branch. Hearing such disturbing news,Bijay Singh's mother was very anxious about the fate of


36 BIJAY SINGH

her son. Her maid servants, who could read her mind, alsobrought her the news about the Sikhs and she got themconfirmed by discussing the same with her husband. thebits ofnews being then received were as under:

Maid Servant: Hon'ble lady, there is terrible newstoday.

Lady: "1nat has happened?Maid servant: About two thousand Sikhs captured

recently were brought today to the deepest base of theShalimar Garden, where two hungry tigers were let looseon them. They fell upon the Sikhs ravenously and torethen to pieces. One shudders to believe such a terriblething. However, dear lady, it is said that not even a singleSikh cried in anguish and, all the while, all ofthem werereciting the praises of God, "WAHEGURU:WAHlEGURU".

Lady: Who else was there?Maid servant: Beside the Nawab and his courtiers,

our Diwan Sahib were also there. Seated on the upperpayment, all ofthem were heartily enjoying the show.

Lady: Those who are in for destruction first, lose,their sense ofmorality. The Mughal rule now is bound tocome to an end. 0' God save thou, my son, as you savedPrehlad. May he never come to any harm.

Maid Servant: Please don't worry. God is always withhim.

Lady: Did any of these Sikhs, belong to the Khatricaste?

Maid Servant: I could not say Madam. Because, allthe Sikhs look alike-tall, heathy, truthful and extremelybrave. I don't think they have any caste; distinctions suchas ofJat and Khatri are just not made among them.


B/JAY SINGH 37

Lady: Ifthey were caste-ridden, they would not havebeen brave. Their strenght lies in their sense of equalityand unity. Can a roofever rest on tom walls? A palace canonly be raised on strong walls ofequal size.

One day, the Lady, sitting on the roof, while dryingher hair was singing these lines ofa song:

"Nourished in love and raised with fond,The child has left me and is gone,Into pieces is broken my heartWhere to go and whom do my tale I impart?"When, the wife of Kulpat Rai the Nizam (A state

official) arrived there in a palanquin and the two closefriends greeted each other with warmth, on meeting. TheNizam's wife, offered condolences to her friend. For herson having embraced Sikhism, as ifhe was dead. Duringtheir talks, she also gave her the harrowing accounts ofthe battle at Makhowal in these words:

Nizam's wife: Sister dear, the Sikhs are in real dangernow. Inspite of their virtues, the government of the dayis bitterly opposed to them. Last night, as my husbandnarrated to me the accounts ofMakhowal battle, my hairstood on end. As you might be aware, after their last battlewith the Afghans, the Sikhs had occupied the entire arealying between Amritsar and the base of the hills, thoughnot long thereafter, the roving units of the army hadforced them to vacate and seek shelter in forests. Someof them as, were left behind in towns, were put to deathmercilessly. Only a few of them could escape to thejungles or to the hills. But the Sikhs too, on their part, didnot allow any respite to the army. In night raids, the Sikhguerrillas would suddenly pounce upon the enemy ranks,causing great devastation. Only recently in a pitched battlewith Moman Khan near Kot Budha, on the bank ofriver


_3;;;-..8"-- ~~__fJIJAY SINGH

Sutlej, they killed a number ofprominent generals of~he

Turks and, thereafter, slipped out ofthe area like a cake ofsoap from the hands. The situation then took a tum for ~heworse. Adina Beg, the Lt. Governor ofJullundur, in a bidto remove the doubts about his bona-fides from the I!lindsofthe Lahore authorities, has staged a volta-face and hasturned against the Sikhs. Pretending friendship with theSikhs, he always looked for an opportunity to harm them.Recently on the occasion of a holy festival gathering atMakhowaJ., not far from his head-quarters, a large numberof Sikhs had gathered there. Sitting in groups they wereengaged in meditation and recitation of the holy hymns.Some of them were listening to the 'Vars' of the bardswho tried to recapture in songs the heroic deeds of:heircompatriots and their daring exploits on the fields ofbattle. All of a sudden, Adina fell upon the unwary Sikl1swith a huge army and surrounded them from all sides. TheSikhs tried to brave the odds with courage and skill,but being at great disadvantage a very large number ofthem had to lay down their lives. The entire battle fieldwas soon drenched in blood and littered with dead bodies.Dread and destruction prevailed every where. However,the brave Sikhs, in keeping with their tradition, did notlose heart and after the initial set back, rallied round totake detennined stand. The initial set back was also due tothe fact that many of the persons gathered at the festivalwere not accustomed to the use of arms. As the massmelted away in the initial commotion, the brave amongthem, thereafter, gave a very tough fight. Adina Beg, in amessage sent here, has claimed a big success over theSikhs saying that they would not be able to raise theirheads again. However? according to my husband, AdinaBeg has already sent secret message to Sardar ! assa Singh


BIJAY SINGH 39--- ----------

Ahluwalia, through his friend, Sadeeq Beg, seeking peacewith the Sikhs. He has taken the plea that he had to attackthem under orders from Lahore. The sagacious, SardarJassa Singh has agreed to his proposals in order to getsome respite to the Khalsa living in hilly areas ofAnandpurSahib and also to enable the householders among theSikhs to live here somewbat peacefully, especially at ati~11e, when Mir Mannu is spitting fire against them. Peacehaving been made between the two, the Sikhs are againseeking shelter at Anandpur Sahib. According to myhusband, Adina Beg is a very clever person. He is fullyaware that he can continue to be in command only so longas he g~ves the impression that he alone can controlthe Sikhs. As such, he could not afford to destroy themaltogether, because the Lahore government would thendisown him. Thus, whiie on the one hand, he has secretlymade peace with the Sikhs, on the other hand, he hasgained favour with the Lahore 'Darbar' by persecutingthem and their compatriots living in towns.

Diwan's wife: How did you come to know about it,dear sister?

Nizam's wife: The whole court, yesterday, was agogwith such talks and at night, my husband and one of hisfriends were also discussing this matter at our house.Both ofthem were ofthe opinion that Nawab Adina Beg~s a very clever fellow, who is neither prepared to acceptthe over-lordship oi' l..,ahore ~or is inclined to offend it.That is why, at times, he persecutes the Sikhs and thenmakes peace with them. He p!etends to subdue the Sikhsand at the same time, in order to maintain his supermacy,allows them to c!eate trouble. I overheard these talks,from the adjoining roo~n. However, dear sister, there is


40 B/JAY SINGH

the bad news that Sardar Jassa Sing!l Ramgarh:a hasagreed to se~ve under Adina Beg.

Diwan's wife: Be at rest, my sis~er, I am convincedthat there fr.USt be SOlr.e very strong reasons for it. I amsure he would not be there for long, because, the b:oodof the Sikhs is very ~hick. He is sure to joir. h:s brothersvery soon.


BIJAY SINGH-~-----------.---~-.-

CHAPTER - .VII

41

Going From ~ahore, to the other side of river Ravione comes across river Chenab, ofwhich the expanse andflow is so immense that references about them have beenmade in many Punjabi proverbs. For example:

"No one knows how Chenab is deep,Fleets ofboats it swallows in a sweep".There was a time when on both sides of the river

there were vast expanse of thick jungles with varioustypes of trees and creatures. Even now at many of theplaces, suchjungles are there, but in those days they wereall pervasive with small gaps. On the North-Western sidefrom Lahore, there was then a very dense forest on itsiITLtnediate bank and it was at a distance of only a fewkilometres from Wazirabad situated towards North-west.It was not confined to the bank alone, but had expandeditself a couple of kilometers off shore. The dense treesand the thorny bushes had made it rather impregnable.However, deeper within, there were open spaces withshady trees. For the Khalsa these very difficult junglesWere god-sent resOlis in those days. There was hardlya jungle, forest or woodland, then, in which small groupsof five, fifty or a hundred Sikhs were not passing theirdays. At an open space within such ajungle there was a hutbuilt with the straw::> ~nd wooden sticks. It was surroundedby a ditch and flanked by a thorny hedge. A courtyardseparated the front and the hut from the ditch, whichserved as a protection against the wild animals. For added -,protection, creepers had been grown all around the hut.There was also a pool of sweet and clean water at a little


_4~2::.- BJJAY SINGH

distance always filled with rain wa:er and spill over fromthe river A 'Singh' was then passing his days in this hut,with his family.

The Sun, one day slipping behind the Earth wascasting its last rays. It was twilight when shedding itsglare, the sunshine is left with about half of its originallight. .Coupled with the natural beauty of the woods, themystical splendour of the evening rays imparted to thewhole atmosphere an aura of peace and chastity. In thedense forests, even in day time, the sun sends the arrowsofits rays through the leaves ofthe trees, like the glancesofa bride passing through her veil; however, the day thenhad reached a stage when the yellowish gleams ofthe sun,like the fading glow of a person, could be seen only onthe hill tops. At that time, in front of the aforesaid hut,and the inner side of the hedge, was sitting a beautifulyoung woman whose charms dery description. Religiousfervour, peaceful disposition, chastity of character anddivine devotion had imparted such a wonderful graceto her beautiful face, that even the most puritan of theMuslim could not have helped to bow before such abeauty. The dove like innocence had bestowed on thefascinating face of the lady, who had never known anywickedness or vice, such splendour that the poetsand painters would have found it hard to capture. Only aperson blessed with divine love can appreciate the divinebeauty ofa divine lady, because he is aware that the purityof soul is reflected in the face. Close to her, was ahandsome boy who like a fir planted in a flower vase, wastall, slim and bonny. He looked beautiful and innocentwith rare wisdom. Virtue and hatred for vice werereflected on his very face like the inner redness of amelon manifesting itself on the green peel.


B/JAY SINGH 43

The mother and thv son were making the baskets ofTamarix dioica. As dusk prevailed, they put aside theirwork and after washing themselves sat down for eveningprayers (REHRAS). Apparently, for a while, they waitedfor somebody to join them. A shortwhile later, a person

.with a face glowing like the Sun and cheerful like theMoo~ entered the courtyard ofthe hut and handing oversome money ~o his wife, washedhimselfandjoined themin prayers, recited by the lady while the other two keptiistening to her sweet recitations. After the conclusion ofthe prayers, the wife prepared salty loaves without anyghee (butter) or curry.

This family consisted ofBijay Singh, Sheel Kaur andtheir son. At that time the sweet moonlight had spread asilvery sheet on the trees, and its rays, after filteringthrough the leaves, fell on the Earth below. The howlingof the wild animals. at short intervals could be heard. Aeof a sudqen, they heard the anguished cries of a humanbeing, which pierced through their hearts like the arrows.The tender-hearted Bijay Singh could no longer restrainhimself and with a lighted stick in his hand proceeded inthe direction of the cries. His wife and son alsoaccompained him. During the course ofsearch, they founda wounded person lying under a tree. He was crying inanguish with a number ofbruises on his person, some ofwhich were slightly bleeding. With fear in his eyes, helooked horrible. Lifting him up tenderly in his arms, BijaySingh brough~ him to his hut. He poured some water intohis mouth and after washing his wounds, dressed themwith a piece of cloth torn from the dress of Sheel Kaur.When the man feeling somewhat better, offered his thanksto the host, Bijay Singh, from his voice, recognised himto be no other than the family priest of his father. Bijay


44 BIJAY SINGH

Singh asked him as to how had he managed to come to thejungle. Being hungry the Pundit found it difficult to talk,at which the lady brought him all that she had at hand, toeat. Although not fully satiated even after consuming themeals of all the three persons of the family, the Pundit,however, felt somewhat better. The family did not haveany more ration to cook. Last evening, Bijay Singh hadbought some flour but on the way back he had given it to astarving person, hoping somehow to meet the needs ofthe family for the evening with what they had in the house.He could not possibly imagine that they would have toentertain a guest, who even a:ter eating the last grain,would not be satiated. After having consumed everything,the Pundit began to re~ate his story. He told Bijay Singhthat his mother had sent him a very handsome amount,with the direction that he should retire to the safety ofthehills, preferably to Makhowal, till things calmed downand the nightmare ofthe wrath ofMir Mannu passed off.Then she hoped to call him back home.

Bijay Singh: Pundit Ji, how did you find me?Pundit: It was with very great difficulty. I had deputed

some spies and even employed some persons for thepurpose. Ultimately, a resourceful person, posing as aSikh, was able to find out that you were living in thisjungle, in which, I have been looking for you, now, forquite some time. Today, I spotted you when you wereselling baskets. Altr..ough you were doing so 'incognito',yet I was ab!e to recognize you. I have been following youand have been repeatedly calling out to you, but you didnot respond. Ultimately I followed you into the forestwhere some dacoits nabbed me and after wounding meplundered me ofeverything. Thereafter they threw me atthe place where you found me lying in great distress.


B/JAY SINGH 45---~-~

BUay Singh: Pundit Ji, I am really grieved that youhad to suffer so much on my account.

Pundit: On my part, I am dying with shame that instead of complying with the wishes ofyour mother, I amresponsible for causing you such a loss and trouble.

Bijay Singh: No. No. Please don't worry about me.Wealth is of no consequence to me. !t has fallen into thehands ofthose, for whom it was destined writ, I regret thatI did not hear your earlier calls.

Pundit: How can l go and face your mother now? 0'mother Earth may I be swallowed by thee! I wish that thethieves had killed me, so that I would have been sparedthis humiliation.

Bijay Singh: Pundit .Ii, why do you worry? I am suremy mother will not be angry with you. She is sure to besatisfied with your explanation, because, afterall, you arean honourable person.

Pundit: My honour, is in your hands, now.Bijay Singh: I am prepared to help you in anyway you

like. But how?Pundit Ji: By writing a few words that you have

received the money.Bijay Singh: This is a down right lie, which I cannot

write. However, I can write the details of the trials andtribulations through which you had to pass.

After these ta!l~s, the Pundit went to sleep and thedivinely contented family also retired after drinking somewater and offering thanks to God.

They rose early next morning. The Pundit had notsuffered any thing. Neither had any thiefmet him nor hadhe been beaten. He had also not called out to Bijay Singh.The thief was actually inside his own cheating self. Thescratches on his person were caused by the thorns ofthe


46 BIJAY SINGH- ~----

bushes, which by sticking onto his clothes, were, as iftrying to prevent him from taking his unc~ean self to thehut ofa pious sou1. The scratches thus caused on his bodywere exploited by the vile PGndit by deceptively describing them to Bijay Singh as the result ofthrashing rece:vedat the hands ofthe thieves. Now, the Pundi: was a11xious toreach home and hence !"is:ng early, ~eCiuested the ~ost forleave to depart.

Bijay Singh: Pl1ndit Ji, as you p:ease.Pundit Ji: I don't have anything on me to meet my

expenses. I al:l wounded, i:l deep trouble and away frommy native place. I do!!'t know, what should I do?

Bijay Singh: Dear Sheel Kaur, do you have anyt!ling ?Sheel: My lord, the amount you brought last evening

from the sale of the baskets is with me.

Pundit: Revered Sir, I have a long way to go; howwould I manage with such a paltry sum?

BUay Singh: My dear, ifyou have any vall1able articlewith you, please do give i~ because persons stra!ldec indistress must be helped.

Sheel: My Lord, the ring that you gave me when youmarried me is here. For the whole ofmy life I do not wishto part with it, and yet I will do what you com~andme to.

Bijay Singh: You are righ, I also do not wish to snatchsuch a dear article :from you, but, ny dear, ultimately wehave to leave everything at the tine ofour death. Ifwe giveit up now in God's way, we won't stand to lose.

Sheel: My Lord, ! can sacrifice even my very headfor your pleasure; what more satisfaction can be the::e forme than to sacrifice it in God's way. Why shouldn't I availmyself ofthis opportunity to earn your pleasure?


BIJAY SINGH 47

She took offthe ring and handed it over to the Pundit,who taking it greedily, left them. On way back, l.'r..any atime he pretended his inability to walk, and then BijaySingh had to carry hil~. This is how Bijay Singh took himout of the wood. Now, after purchasing some flour fro~n

the town Bijay Singh came back to his hut.Once out ofthe jungle, the Pundit came to a viilage

to stay in an old rest house. Feeling quite happy at havir..gplayed his part well and thus appropriating the e~tire

amount without compromising his honour, he was nowpla:1ning for the future. He was sure that by showing herthe ring he would be able to convince the Diwan's wifethat he had been to Ram Lal and had handed over themoney to him. But, he was ~omewhat apprehensive thatthe dedicated Sikhs may be able to throw out the unjustand tyranneous rule ofMir Mannu and become the rulers.In that case Bijay Singh would definitely meet his mothera.'1d then his mischief would be detected. 'I would thenbe in ve~y hot waters, he though, ' I have killed a worm,but unless the snake is killed, and my worries on thisaccount are over, it would not be possible for me to enjoythe fruits ofthe ill gotten wealth', he said to himself. Hebegan to draw up plans in his mind to achieve such apurpose. Suddenly, his face began to glow as he hit upona plan wherewith he would be able to kill two birds withone stone. He recalled that a leading Turk resided in thatvery village and also that the head of a Sikh canieda reward of eighty rupees. He though that by reportingagainst the three Sikhs, he would earn two hundreds andforty rupees, besides eliminating the cause of his worry.However, for a moment, he was hesitant at the thoughtthat by so dOLllg he would be committing a great sin. Asinful act is reaEy vicious because to cover it one has tocommit another sin and the process assumes the form of


48 BlJAY SING}::!.

a chain, the last link of which remains unprotected.Consoling himself with perverted reasoning he said tohimself that the Sikhs were always anxious to courtmartyrdom; by reporting against them he would only beenabling them to achieve their aim. Hence, it would be, ina way, an act of virtue on his part. "I am really wise,people kill two birds with one stone while I would bekilling three. One, I shall add to my !1lateria~ gains, two,the cause ofmy worry would be removed and trxee, I shallearn the lr.erit of a virtuous act" At these thoughts, hechuckled with satisfaction.


BIJAY SINGH

CHAPTER - VIII

49

In the forest, Bijay Singh was passing his days inmeditation and singing the praises ofthe Lord God, whenthe Pundit came to disturb his peace. However, he was nota person who wodd be un-nerved by such tidings. Afterbidding farewell to the priest, Bijay Singh purchased someflour, came back and had the meals cooked. After themeals, all the three members ofthe family engaged themselves in their routine work. During the day they used toprepare the baskets with Tamarix dioica. Bijay Singh, inthe guise of a 'Ranghar' would go to sell these baskets inthe town after every two or three days. He supported hisfamily with the sale proceeds ofthese baskets, which didnot amount to more than three or four annas (about 25paise) a day, but with which the contented and theunrepining fellows were quite satisfied. One reallymarvels at those Sikhs, who, forsaking all the comforts oflife, had voluntarily accepted privations and sufferings,banishments and imprisonments, in order to uphold theintegrity and sanctity oftheir Faith. Every Sikh must drawinspiration from them, because by adopting and upholdingthe Sikh way of life, one can redeem not only one's ownlife but also that ofthe whole' Panth'.

On the third day after the departure of the Pundit, atabout sunset Bijay Singh went to the town to sell baskets.After him, Sheel Kaur and her son, while doing theirwork, kept themselves engaged in casual talks like this:

Son: Respected mother, I did not like that Pundit,somehow.

Mother: But why, my dear child?


50 BIJAY SINGH

Son: Respected mother, I don't know but, somehowhe has not appealed my eyes.

Mother: My dear son, as your father had said inthe religious discourse yesterday, no body should bedenounced for his or her caste; our religion does notapprove of it. Similarly it is not proper to judge a personby his outward appearance. A person is good or badaccording to how he acts. He alone is bad whose actionsare not good.

Son: Then, revered mother, why do the Sikhs fightthe Mughals?

Mother: My dear child, not because they are 'Turksor because of their creed or colour. It is because theactions of the Mughals, who happen to be rulers, are notgood. Having been blessed with power by God, they shouldexercise it for the promotion of Truth and Justice. Butinstead, they are inhumanly cruel towards innocent andpoor people.

Son: That is all right. And yet I have not liked theBrahmin. May be his actions are not good.

Mother: Have you seen him doing anything evil?Son: No.Mother: Why then, do you call him evil. It is not

good to call a person evil on the basis ofsuspicion alone.Son: I am obsessed with this thought and I just can

not shake it off.Mother: (Despairingly) My dear son, suspicion

seems to have mastered you. Suspicion is inimical anddefiles the mind making it unfit for divine presence. Myvery dear child, this is a mental malady, therefore let uspray to God that yo~ be rid of it.

Putting aside their work, the mother and the son wentinside and with folded hands began to pray thus "0' God,the, Benevolent Lord, suspicion has entered the mind


B/JAY SINGH 51

of my son; we are helpless to cure the malady and seekyour divine help. Pray, wash the dil1 ofsuspicion from themind of Thy slave with the holy water of Thy grace andrender it pure. You are our sale stay and support. Just asyou protect us from wild animals in this jungle, similarlyprotect our mind from the worldly sins so that we may beworthy of finding room near your holy feet."

As the Sikh lady opened her eyes after these prayers,she heard some cries like this:

"(Crying) Beat me not, not telling a lie: For God sakepity on me. It must be somewhere near about it.(Crying painfully), please do not beat me, because Iwould be killed -Alas-poor me- Alas--O' God,0' God-"As the mother saw through a slit in the door, she saw

!hat a thin lean fellow was being held by a Turk soldier,while two other were holding his arms and yet anotherwas thrashing him, saying, "You accursed fellow, why haveyou needlessly troubled us by leading us into this difficultand thorny bush, where our bodies have been badly bruised.The one who was being beaten was pleading for mercysaying, "Please spare me, all the signs are available nowand the place must be quite near," However, nobody wasinclined to believe him.

Just as ripples ofwaves disturb the peaceful surfaceof a sea before a storm, similarly there were signs ofdisturbance on the face of the young Sikhs lady. Staringintently ahead and hearing with rapt attention, the bravewoman had a foreboding ofwhat was going to happen. Shehugged her child to her bosom and said, "My dear son,You are right. The Pundit, has proved to be treacce!ous.Deep within my heart, I too did· have some misgivings,


52 B/JAY SINGH

but, I had managed to curb them. You must take heartnow and act bravely. :t is time to act according to theinstructions of your father. Le! us first offer prayers. Atthis, both ofthem folded their hands and prayed, "0' Lordof aigrette (Guru Gobind Singh) and Master of arrr.ies,0' Benevolvent Lord, a horde of enemy is advancingand a hand to hand fight is inevitable. I am a feeblewoman and he is just an innocent child, the two ofus a!'efaced with a formidable foe. You, in your mercy, exaltthe low and support the poor. Pray, grant us the strengthto face the enemy. May we lose our lives but not ourFa:th."

By the end ofthese prayers, she realized that the huthad been found out and the enemy was quite at hand.Addressing her son, she said, "Make haste to take up anns.Be very brave, do not afraid of these Mughals and givethem a good fight. Even ifI happen to die, don't ever loseyour heart. Nor should you surrender your arms, even ifyou have to lay down your life. "Jon't ever compromisewith the enemy. Our Guru is on our side."

The lion-hearted boy seized hold of the gun whichwas always kept loaded for emergency and also armedhimselfwith a sword and a shield. The mother also tookup a sword and a shield and both ofthem came out into theyard. By that time the enemy had also reached there. Onits arrival, the brave lady asked them calmly but firmly,

"Who are you?""We are soldiers and have come to arrest you. IfyOl;

surrender voluntarily, well and good, otherwise we winhave to use force to arrest you,"

The soldier had hardly uttered word, 'arrest', whenthe boy pressed the trigger of the gun ar..d the bul!et hithim or.. the forehead killing him on the spot. Four of the


B/JAY S~/N;;...::G:.:.:.H..::- , 53

remaining soldiers pushed forward in anger while thePandit hid himself at a distance. They were armedwith swords alone because, on coming to know from thePundit that they were ofsaintly dispositions, the soldiershad not expected them to put up a fight.

Meanwhiie, when one ofthe soldiers tried to scale thehedge, the brave lady, with her sword, struck him on eisshoulder with SUCG force that he fell face down. Anotherblow from the lady cut through his neck. The remainingthree soldiers, broke open the door and together fell uponthe lion-hearted lady like an elephant. Meanwhile, theboy had reloaded the gun and from behind a cover firedstraight into the chest of another soldier. Discarding thegun, he delivered such a quick blow with sword on theleg of one of the remaining two soldiers who hadsurrounded his mother that he fell down in a seriouslywounded condition. But for this timely help fro:n herson, she would have found it difficult to escape the swordsof the professional soldiers. When his colleague waswounded, the other soldier tried to hit the lady with hissword with full force, but the brave woman warded it offwith her own sword, which, however, was broken in theprocess. Rushing immediately in, she caught hold of thegun, and using it as a stick, hit the soldier who, in themeanwhile, had wounded her son. lfhe had been able todeliver another blow upon the boy, then he for sure wouldhave died. But, with the blow from the lady, his sword fenfrom his hand. Getting frightened, he had hardly turnedto gather his sword, when he received, yet another blowfrom the wounded child, from the right and still another,with bet ofthe gun, from the left by the wounded mother.He feU flat, bieeding prof!lsely. All the five soldiers hadnow been overpowered. Three of them were dead, f'1e


54 BIJAY SINGH

fourth was on tis last breaths with a bullet wound in hischest, while the fifth, with a broken leg, althoagh yetalive, was unable to walk. He was, however, still 'pIottingin his mind to ave!lge himself. He p1"etended to cry witl:pain and pleaded for some water. The Sikhs are alwaysinclined to do good to others. Believing him to be in realagony Sheel Kaur brought him some water. When she wastrying to pour it, into his mouth, his right haIld reached fa:a dagger under his shirt. Sheel,Kaur had her back :owardsthe doo: and was unaware thdt her husba:ld had reachee!there. Instinctively realising that aE was not well backat :he hut, he had hastened back. When he saw thedead bodies, he realized that the inevitable had happened.Holding his breath, as he looked inside, he saw his wifeand son giving water to the foe. His experienced mine!immediately realized the danger, when he saw the hand ofthe enemy groping under his shirt. Leaping furward withthe dexterity ofa deer, he grasped the emerging hand withsuch force that only the end ofthe dagger could touch his~ife. When the son saw his mother bleeding from thewound caused by the dagger held in the hand of thesoldier, h~ inflicted a telling wound on his shoulder withhis own dagger. Now Bijay Singh fully examined thebodies and found them cold and dead. The last of thesoldiers, however, did have some life left in him as yet.After searching him thoroughly, he tended his wounds.After giving him some water he asked him to tal! the truthbehind the happenings.

The soldier, a Mughal by caste and renowned for hisbravery, was full ofadmiration for the enemy. A child anda woman had overpowered five of the soldiers and werenow o:fe:ing him water and dressing his wounds. A sense


BIJAY SINGH 55

ofgratitude overwhelmed him and he told them the storyin the following words:" A resident ofLahore, today gave secret information toour officer that some Sikhs were living in this jungle.Acting on this' cue, our officer ordered us to accompanyhim for the arrest of these Sikhs. Accordingly the fiveof us accompanied this informant. Since about middaywe have been wandering around in the jungle and gettingourselves bruised by the thorny bushes. We were sotired that we were inclined to disbelieve the informantand actually planned to kill him. But his utterly servilebeggings compelled us to pity him and give him moretime to recover the tiral. After wandering for a very longtime, we were able to find the place after all., As we hadbeen told that the husband would be away to the twonat this hour, therefore, we thought that it would not bedifficult to arrest a woman and a mere child. As such, wewere somewhat complacent. But, your wife and son gaveus such a hot reception that we were completely takenaback and before we could recover we had already beenbeaten and gril~ed. For a soldier, it is not ill to be woundedor even to die, but it is a stigma and a shame to be humbledby a woman and a mere child. Today, I am convincedthat our days are now numbered and a community whosechildren and women folk are so passionately committedto their faith that in its defence they are willing todefy death, can never be conquered or forcibly subdued.They are bound to rule sooner or later. For one wouldnever again fight against these valiant people and if Isurvive, I shall have nothing but praise for their essentialhuman qualities".


56 BIJAY SINGH

Bijay Singh: (Giving him a pat) But where is thatinfonnant?

Mughal: He ran away at the very first shot from thegun ofyour brave son. Si:, would you please teE me as towhen did you train your child in the skill ofusing swordand gun.

Bijay Singh: The SkiE ofhandling arms is in the veryblood of the Sikhs, because we have such frequentrecourse to them in defel1ce ofvirtue. Now, Bijay Singh,examined the wounds ofhis wife and son. They were notof any serious nature. He offered his humble thanks toGuru Gobind Singh for his mercy. He looked, in tum,towards the dead bodies of those cowards who hadattacked an innocent women and a child and, then, towardshis dear wife and his beloved son. He hugged both ofthemto his bosom and said, "very well done. Bravely have youwielded the Sword ofthe KJlalsa a..'1d truly have you upheldthe glory of the 'Amrit' bestowed on us by Guru GobindSingh. Such indeed should be our Faith. Great indeed isthe Guru who himselfprotects us and redeems our honour."

He tended the wounds of his wife and son with the'life giving herb' which every Sikh then carried on his/herperson. After the meals, Bijay Singh said that it would betoo dangerous to stay there any longer, because, the placewas not safe. It was, therefore, expedient to leave.

Son: But respected father, where shall we go?Father: Dear son, we will join some 'Dal' (organized

bands ofthe Sikhs.)Son: Very good. Had we joined it earlier, I would

have learnt the use ofgun.Father: It is on~y for your sake that i had chosen this

place, because I thought that it would be difficult for awoman and a child to live with a 'Jal'. I had also a feeling


BIJAY SINGH 57

that the 'Dal' also might have to face some difficulty onyour account especially at times of confrontation withthe enemy.

Wife: Do you really think that women cannot be ofany use to the Panth? I am sure, they can render veryuseful service as helping hands. I think, we must jointhem.

Husband: Quite true, some of the brave women areserving the Panthic organization very well. I had somemisgivings about you but, now I am convinced that youwill be able to cope with the difficulties. Let us departnow because the sun is about to set. I hope that by aboutmid-night, we shall be able to join the 'Dal' ofKaroraSingh, some of whose members are camping at a placeabout four miles away.

They left that place, where the wounded Turk waslying in a state ofunconsciousness. Looking around in thejungle, they took to the south-eastern direction, takingwith them some ofthe anns and other necessary articles.

How to cover the four miles distance, at that hour ofthe nigbt was quite a problem, especially with a lady anda child who had never before suffered such shockingexperiences and were in a wounded and exhausted state.Engrossed in such thoughts, Bijay Singh was excessivelyworried. Far from coming to a decision, he was so muchcarried away by the anxiety that he did not even know as towhat he was thinking about. While reading a book whenwe gradually brii.-:'Z it closest to our eyes, we are not ableto read anything out of it. Just as a very fast moving topappears to be standing still and the excessive speed oftheEarth cannot be seen, and it appears to be steady to theeyes similarly, because ofexcessive worries, Bijay Singhalso was in a blank state ofmind. However, he recoveredhimselfvery soon. A person falling in water, at first, goes


58 __ BIJAY SINGH

down and then the water, in keeping with its nature, throwshim up. This process is repeated till, at the end ofthis seesaw struggle, wr.ile a swimmer swims across to safety, alayman, after about ten dives, gets drowned. Similarly,Bijay Singh, ultimately recovered himself from under thewater ofworries with the aid ofhis trained mind. The evershifting mind does not easily let the Yogis to sit in meditation.It makes the concentration ofthe thinkers equallyd~fficult. But the trained mind ofBijay Singh proved to beofgreat help to him. The winter rains afflict some peoplewith severe cold, while benefit the crops at the same time.Thus, Bijay Singh recovered himselfquite soon. Lookingaround, as he surveyed closely, he saw a sort of well alittle distance away from the forest. He moved in thatdirection together with his family. They came upon an oldhouse which was in a very bad and shattered condition.However, there was enough room for them to pass thenight. Standing at an eleva~ion, they satisfied themselvesand decided to stay there for the night.

Just as the night comes out the moment the Sun hidesits face, similarly, as soon as Bijay Singh retired behindthe cover of the walls of the house, the Pundit came outfrom behind a tree like a snake from its hole. Rubbing hishand against his shriven stomach he said to himself, "Ihave caught the serpent in a pot. This clever Sikh hadmanaged to save his life, but ever since then I have beenclosely foHowing him and have not let him escape. However hard a horse may run, the fly does not lag behindand similarly, howsoever furious a lion may happen to be,the mosquito is not scared by it. Now Pundit the great,let me contrive in such a way that this serpent be killedin the very pot in which he has been trapped. Ifhe escapes


B/JAY SINGH 59--~-"

alive then I shall not be able to enjoy the fruits of thewealth I have appropriated. Let me plant some indicativemarks here, lest I should again be in trouble at the handsof those cruel officials. Let me go now, but, with suchrickety legs how shall I reach there? O'mind, be brave, thehare and the stag also have very lean legs, but, they r:mvery fast. But nay, (thumping his thighs) I am giving awrong simile. I am a hunter and not the hunted. I shallprove to be a hunter. But, I have been trained in the beliefthat 'Non-violence is the supreme Religion', and now Iam turning myself into a hunter. However, ! need not beafraid, because had there been no hunters at all, how couldthe 'Mahat.1Uas' have go~ the deer skin (Mrig chhala) to situpon and where from the 'Musk' (kastoori) would havecome. Thus, it is rather an act ofvirtue. The mind is reallyvery base, because, often, it curses me for being inclinedto do a bad act. 0' mind, be brave. Many a time, I have toldyou to be diplomatic but, inspite of it, you try to scold me.0' my efforts, let this mind be nipped because it is myreal enemy. It is impolitic and timid. 0' my courage, ariseand be brave and see for yourselfthat my mind is trying todissuade myself from my aim. (After a pause). Now mymind has also agreed to endorse my schemes. I am sure tobe happy now, because all my faculties are now working inunison. Any home deprived of unity is bound to bedestroyed. O'my mind, you being a Brahmin must act likePARSRAM who was also a brave Brahmin." While he wasengaged in such thoughts he was once again troubled byhis conscience for what he was upto. But, to still the voiceof his conscience he told his mind, "1 am a faithfuldecendant ofPARSRAM and he is sure to protect me, hisdevotee. Why should 1be afraid? Let me now make haste


60 BIJAY SINGH

because ifit becomes too late in the night then I may haveto be in trouble. ! have every hope that by day break, thethree Sikhs would vanish like stars in the Sky."

Musing thus, the Pundit, vacillated between callousness and conscience. The fear always leads such personsinto a state ofvacillation and howsoever hard they may trythey cannot overcome the feelings of fear. Hearing thesounds of the hooves of horses and the voice of somepersons, the Pundit was so much scared by the thoughtthat they might be the Sikhs, that he immediately took tohis heels.


BIJAY SINGH 61--.------------------------

CHAPTER-IX

Howsoever hard the base water ofthe low lying anddepressed areas, onjoining the sea, may try to browbeatthe Sun, it is unable to do any harm to it. On the contrary,the sun is able to tear it apart from the sea. The enragedwater, then, tries to diminish the prowess ofthe Sun in anunderhand way and assuming the form clouds succeedssomewhat in turning back its rays. Thus encouraged, ittries to rise higher, in a bid to take up cudgles with theSun, but only to fall down in the form of hails. :'hus,separated from its home, it wanders about and the s:ormywinds, goaded by the Sun, do not allow it any rest. When·ever, assuming the form ofthe clouds, it again rises ontothe hills, then, scared by their frightful forms, terribletops, perilous vales and awe··inspiring rows of trees,coupled with extreme cold, it gets frightened and startsweeping. Striking its head against the vales it stumblesdown and reaches the plain. Thereafter, sprawling in themud it looks for its home and ultimately attains to thesea, where its filth and fatigue is removed. Just as thetimid water, running from fear of the hills, manages,sometimes, to reach its goal, similarly the cowards, outof fear, sometimes meet with success in their mission.The frightened Pundit, likewise, came running straight tothe residence of the Chiefofthe town. However, nobodytook any interest in him. In a bid to soften the rigidattitude ofthe guard, he flattered him on the one hand andgreased his palm too. Being thus pleased, the guard ledhim in, where the Pundit coined such stories that orderswere issued to Jamadar Hoshiar Beg to leave immediately


52 BIJAY SINGH

with some armed horsemen to arrest the Sikhs. He wasalso directed to :ake t~e Pur..dit along ir.. a palanquin. Theystarted forthwith, but because ofthe darkness ofthe nightand the jungle on the way, the Pundit lost track to the greatresentment of the soldiers who were also feeling soreover his riding in a palanquin. However, the illegal gra!ification offered by the Pundit was serving him very well.Searching and sca:lning, they ultimately succeeded inreaching their goai in a state of 'Jtter exhaustion a littlepast the third quarter oftc.e night. The mother and the sonwere asleep, while Bijay Singh was reciting Asa-di-war(the early morning p:ayer). His melodious voice had, infact, helped the advance party to find him out. By now themoon had risen in the sky. Bijay Sir..gh offered stiffresistance and crossed swords with the soidiers as a result ofwhich one of them lost his :~fe. The rest of them overpowered him and captured him. The mother and the sonhad hardly opened their eyes when they were pouncedupon like sprouting mushroom. As such they did not haveany opportunity to offer any resistance. Afte: tying downall the three, the party left the place.

The Turk horsemen, being tired, were anxious to getback as early as possible. They were not very happy athaving been able to capture just a single Sikh and that tooat the cost of or..e of their own colleagues. In order toreach back earlier, Hoshiar Beg decided to put the childand his mother in the palanquin :n p~ace ofthe informap.tPundit. He also decided to relieve one ofthe merceneriesengaged for ~ifting the palarrquin after every half a mileand directed the P'Jndit to take a turn in this capactiy. Onthese orders the infonnant dropped down lii<.e the meltingsnow on the hill tops and just as the bale ofa grass thoughloaded on the back of a horse, yet serves as its feed, he


BIJAY SINGH 63

was reduced to the status of a horse from a horseman.However, after sometime, Hoshiar Beg realizing that hismaster might be offended at such humiliating treatmentto the informant allowed him once again to get into thepalanquin. In this way, the party covered the distance withgreat difficulty and at a very slow pace. On reaching theheadquarters, Bijay Singh and his family were thrown intoa small cell.

As if extremely pained at the maltreatment of suchpious souls; the heart ofthe night burst forth and the suncame out to see for itself the tyrannies committed underthe cover of darkness. Peerhaps feeling ashamed, thenight on its departure left such a thick trail ofmist that thesun found it difficult to emerge out ofit. A quarter oftheday had passed when the governor held his court and theprisoners were presented before him. Just as the eyescannot stand the glare of bright sunshine, similarly, thegovernor was taken aback at the sight ofthe prisoners. AMulla (Qazi)who was attendingthecourt broke the silenceby saying "Have you marked, my Lord, how devilishlybeautiful the infidels are. The Devil seems to have giftedthem with the treasures ofbeauty. Just mark how beautifulthey are: the very sun seems to have broken into threepieces or some of the stars have fallen from heavens tostand before us. They are just like three ivory dolls ortoys made ofmercury. God seems to have manifested thelight itself in their forms. The heavens must also beinhabited by such beautiful souls. But alas, such beautifulpersons are continuing as infidels, and after death wouldburn in the fire of hell. How I wish that they belong toour Faith and after going to heavens add to its beauty.My Lord, bring them into the fold of our religion, andenable them to illuminate the face ofthe heavens. By suchan act, you shall earn the grace of God. Once they are


54 BIJAY SINGH

in heavens there shall not be any need of light there. MyLord it is my sincere prayer that they should be excusedand brought into the folds ofIslam. The man appears to bequite wise and will appreciate your friendly gesture. Ihave every hope that he will agree to accept Islam".

Just as spark is made by rubbing two articles againsteach other, similarly, these words of the Mulla rubbingagainstthehearts ofthe listeners, wanned up their Islamicfervour and every body endorsed his views. My Lord, anact ofvirtue should not be delayed, otherwise, we shall bedenounced for every moment that they now spend asinfidels which, for them also is unbecoming. As such;they should be immediately ushered into our Faith. rl'heyare really fortunate to have been blessed with such anopportunity. They are no ordinary beings, because, theyare the very incarnation of!Jeauty. We would be fortunateto have such beautiful persons among our ranks. Theywould benefit us a class. We have brought bravery into theMuslim fold and through them we will be bringing beautyinto our midst. I wish that all the good things ofthe worldshould come over to us.

A close adviser ofthe governor who was very witty,enjoyed the license to say anything with impunity. Everybody had to tolerate him without any demur. On hearingthe Mul1a he remarked. "It is true my Lord, but (mimicking) the bravery now has fallen for KARAH PARSAD(Sacred food). You should bind it down to force it to stayat your palace, otherwise, taking the holy Nectar (Arnrit)it may cut you to pieces."

Quite true! Let us start with the SHills we havealready captured. God seems to have solved many ofourproblems, Mian Arif Khan does not have a child. Afterinitiating this child into Islam, we will hand him over to


BIJAY SINGH 65

the Mian and it would not only illuminate his house, butalso fulfil the wishes of his four barren wives. In yourestablishment there is a vacancy for a wage clerk, whichcan be easily filled in by this young Sikh who appears tobe quite literate. Providing him with the job, let him bemarried to the daughter of Mian Din, and my home,deserted at the death ofmy wife, can be rehabilitated bythis lady. I shall be grateful to you for bestowing on me, amere MuHa, such a beautiful gift.

The significant smile of the Nawab left no doubt inthe mind of the court jester that he was keen to have thelady for himself, rather than give her to the Mulla.

"Qazis and Mullas, Pundits and PreceptorsBeware offour, they are deceivers all"Meanwhile, when a person informed them that these

captives had killed all those four ofthe five soldiers whohad gone earlier to arrest them, all of them were besidethemselves with rage. No body could now dare to have aword ofpraise for the lady or her son who had killed fourof their soldiers. Nevertheless, the Chief inspite of hisanger, was so much enamoured of the beauty of SheelKaur that he dismissed them for the time being with the'order "Take away these accursed persons and throw theminto the jail. Further orders regarding them, would beissued later on." The court rose for the day, and everybodyleft. Accompanied by the jester, the Chief also went intohis mansion. Before taking liquour the jester once againadvised his Master to initiate the three prisoners intoIslam and spare them any more hardship. "Bring that ladyinto your palace because a more suitable Begum (wife)for you would be hard to find." Thereafter, coming to thejail, the jester tried to prevail upon Bijay Singh to hugIslam but to no avail. At about dusk, Bijay Singh was


66 B/JAY SINGH

summoned to the palace where every effort was made topersuade him, intimidate him, induce him and even tothreaten him, but to no effect.

"A stone cannot get wet, even if it remains underwater for hundreds ofyears."

Bijay Singh was then thrown into a separate cell,while the mother and the son were imprisoned in another.

"Sayeth Nanak the Gods Servant the Creator helpedme overcome myriads such material difficulties".


BIJAY SINGH

CHAPTER-X

67

The day, by then, had melted like the summer snowwhen the Nawab and his jester, together with some otheradvisers, came into the courtyard and took their seats. Themother and the child, with their feet tied to a peg, werestanding on one side with a guard armed with a nakedsword over them, while, on the opposite side, was standingBijay Singh with his hands and feet tied to another peg. Inan effort to persuade Bijay Singh, the Mulla said to him,"0' brave man, take heart and be brave. Why do youundergo these sufferings. If you agree to our proposalyou will be immediately set free."

Bijay Singh: "You are blind with power and pelf. But,howsoever hard you may try, you cannot deter me from

. my Path. You may do whatever you like, but I am notgoing to degrade myself in order to save my skin. Whowould ever exchange gold for a base metal? This body isnot immortal. Die it must; then why not now?"

On hearing these words, a horrible looking person ofextremely dark complexion - darker than even night cameout from behind and started giving lashes on the back ofBijay Singh. He struck with such a force that deep cuts, asmade with a sword, were soon caused on his body. Evenwasherman may have some compassion for the stoneagainst which he strikes the clothes, but, this heartlesspersons strained himselfto the last ounce ofhis energy todeliver the lashes under the impact ofwhich the skin ofBijay Singh got red at first, then inflamed, blistered thereafter and finally fat began to ooze out. The valiant manwho had been brought up in love and comfort suffered


68 B/JAY SINGH

this torture with exemplery courage. At last he !ost hisconsciousness. Like a helpless caged lioness, his wifewas groaning in anguish at this horrible sight. Unable tostand it, she closed her eyes, but, her hands being bound,she could not close her ears and at the thumping sound ofthe lashes, her eyes were again forced opened. Tears wereflowing down her cheeks like rain drops on the marbleand her very blood appeared to be gushing forth from hereyes. Alas, what an agonizing state she was in.

As for the child, he was trembling like the reflectionof the Moon in disturbed waters of a lake. A flood oftears was streaming down his eyes and all the time hecontinued to utter these words of prayers, "0' reveredGuru, please save my father." His throat got hoarse withcrying and his face was pale with exhaustion, but, thecruel persons, blind with power, were not moved even abit. When Bijay Singh lost his consciousne:;s, the lashingwas halted and a few drops ofwater were poured into hismouth. But he could not be revived. All the three ofthem were now thrown into separate cells. As the nightadvanced, Bijay Singh lying face down on the groundgained some consciousness and opened his eyes. But, hecould neither see anything nor move even a bit, becausehis whole body was stiff. He was in an excruciating statephysically because ofthe deep cuts on his back. There wasnot even a word ofcomfort for him. In such a condition,the memory of his mother welled up in his mind, whoappeared to be saying, to him "Ram, my very dear child,didn't I dissuade you from following this path. But youwere adamant and insisted upon following this path ofDivine Love. Now see for yourself the perils in whichthis love has landed you. Your very skin has been flayed.Now, teU me, who is going to help you in this condition?"


BIJAY SINGH 69

It is very natural for a casual observer to be horrifiedat the sight of such cruelties. But, in the heart of thedevotees is enshrined the Guru's form who lends themcourage to stand such hardships, by directing their mindfrom the thought of pain and anguish towards Himself.The pain does not weakened their faith. On the contrarytheir faith is deepened by the efforts of concentration ontheir part.

Suddenly Bijay Singh heard some voice. The dooropened and a tall youngman with an angelic face and along beard entered the room. He was carrying a burningtorch and was accompanied by some of his servants.Following him were the Jail Warden and some otheremployees, all of whom were shaking with fear. Onseeing the condition ofBijay Singh, the eyes ofthe pious:person were fined with tears. Addressing the warden, hesaid, "you accursed fellow, may you and your masterperish for meeting out such a barbarous treatment to ahelpless fellow. With what face would you go before theLord? Your faces would be blackened and you shall bumin the fires of heH." He then, asked one of his followersto bring a cot which was immediately brought. KissingBijay Singh's feet and lifting him up with great care,he put him face down on the cot. He had the cot liftedand left the place amidst strong protestations from thewarden who said that, this was being done without anyorders from his Master and that is bound to be severelypunished for this "Why after all, should you help him,being a Muslim?" he asked.

Pious son: (In rage) "Get away you accursed fellow.Must a Muslim be necessarily cruel?}Ie alone is a trueMuslim who, with firm faith in God, loves all humanbeings as His creation. A Muslim should be just and


70 BIJAY SINGH

compassionate and certainly not cruel". Reprimandingthus, the Muslim saint left the place taking Bijay Singhalongwith him. Unfortunately he was not aware that thewife and son of Bijay Singh were also imprisoned inseparate cells and were in great anguish.

The pious person lived in a small hut in a forest, at alittle distance from the city. He was a Sayyid by caste andhad firm faith in God. For a considerable period oftimehe had stayed with Bhai Mani Singh and it was throughhis grace that he had become a saint. Being quite young atthe time of Bhai Mani Singh's martyrdom, he was somuch distracted and distressed on that account that hecame to live in this forest and engaged himself in deepspiritual meditation. Very soon, he attained such spiritualheights that his fame spread far and wide and people ofthe area began to look upon him with awe and respect.This night, when he heard about the miserable plight ofBijay Singh he came post-haste and without caring foranybody took him away. At a time when Muslim rulerswere tyrannizing over their subjects like this. there weresome Sayyids like Sabar Shah, who were ever ready toextend help to people in distress. When the saintly Sayyidreached back alongwith Bijay Singh and when he saw hisface, the memory ofBhai Mani Singh was quickened in hismind. He was afflicted with such remorse that, for quitesometime, he kept weeping. He had not been able to seehis spiritual Master at the time ofhis martyrdom, but now,looking on Bijay Singh, he saw in him the image of hisMaster and hence engaged himself in his service with sucha devotion that very soon Bijay Singh fully recuperated.

On the other side, the Chief of the area was besidehimself with rage on learning about the taking away ofBijay Singh by Sabar Shah. However, he could not do


BIJAY SINGH 71

anything except to writhe like a snake. Much as hewould have liked to do something in the matter, he was somuch afraid of the Muslim Saint that he did not dare tocall on him. Unable to do anything about Bijay Singh, hebrought Sheel Kaur and her son Waryam-Singh, to hishouse. He tried hard to force them to renounce theirreligion, but on their firm refusal he ordered Sheel Kaurto grind a hand-mi!l and tortured the boy. By now SabarShah had come to know about B~jay Singh's wife and sonwhile Bijay Singh was convalescing under his care, theMuslim saint was planning to rescue Sheel Kaur and herson. However, he did not know how to do so because,although everybody was afraid of him, yet he did notthink it prudent to challenge the Chief right in his house.Nevertheless, when nothing better could be done, hedecided to stonn the house of the Chief to rescue thevictims. For such a purpose, one day, he reached therealongwith Bijay Singh and some of his own followers.They entered the courtyard, sheel Kaur and her son,saw Bijay Singh from their first floor room. They wereso happy to find him alive that they forgot their ownafflictions. They thanked God for having been able to seehim safe and sound. But alas! instead ofmeeting him, theywere destined for a long separation. The Muslim saint hadhardly entered the stair-case when the Chief, having seenhim from above, sent out Sheel Kaur and her son througha back door with instruction that they should be taken toLahore under suitau!~ guard. Himself, coming down hegreeted the saint and told him that lady and her son hadbeen sent to Lahore. Dejected, the party had to return.When Bijay Singh came to know about it he was so muchdistressed that he begged leave of the saint to go toLahore in search ofhis wife.


72

CHAPTER-Xl

BIJAY SINGH

The world !las always maltreated those who arecommitted to the path of truth and righteousness.Persons engaged in divine meditation, have always bee!ldefamed and cheap tales are retold about them. At timeseven their perso!lallives are not spared. Praised be theseGod-Oriented people who, follow their convictionirrespective of the waggir.g tongues and do not flinchfrom cour.:ing martyrdo~:n in pu~suit of their causc. It isbecause, the Lord God, the cause of all causes, illuminestheir ceart like sunshine. Just as in broad daylight humanbei!lgs, r.ormally, are not afraid, similarly, the deeplyreligious persons, on ~neeting the Lord, draw strengthfrom the light ofRis love.

The group in which Sheel Kaur and her son were sentto Lahore consisted offive or seven more SHill prisoners,besides some other criminals who were also made to jointhis group. Thus, in all, there were abot:t twenty-five tothirty prisoners, men and women both. They wereescorted ~y a detachment of soldiers including two'Havaldars' and a 'Jamadar'. Being used to similar assignments for a long time, these soldiers had become dead :0all human feeling. The 'Jamadar' was even in collusionwith some of thc dacoits and had enriched himselfby sharing in their loot and plunder. He had acquired alot of landed property. He continued to be in the serviceto be able to help free dacoits in thc event of theircapture. In that dark age it was not uncomnlOn for the stateofficers to plunder people like this. Whenever news aboutit travelled to the king, these officials always excusedthemselves by throwing the blame on the inr..ocent Sikhs


BIJAY SINGH 73

who were accused of being robbers and dacoits. In thisway many an innocent Sikh who could never even thinkof killing an innocent person or accepting even a pennyof ill-gotten money, had to lose their lives. Such falseaccusations against the Silills, made to the· King by thelocal officials were usually accepted by him without anyenquiry, because ofhis own prejudice against the SHills.Today, executive and the judiciary have bee~ separated,and there are independent courts, one above the other,right upto the provincial and State levels. They have towork in a framework of definite laws, to help interpretwhich, legal experts are also provided. There is no doubtthat inspite of this elaborate legal system some of theunscrupulous officers may still manage to do some wrongbut this administrative set-up does ultimately help todetermine the veracity of a crime. However, in thosedays, neither any such system was there nor were therulers as enlightened as Akbar or Maharaja Ranj it Singh,who could weigh the claims ofjustice and truth. That iswhy gross injustice in various forms was then perpetratedeverywhere. Guru Nanak gives an eye witness account ofthe conditions prevailing at the close of Afghan rule inIndia: Says he,

"The kings are like tigers and their revenue collectors,dogs;They go and awaken people at all odd hours;

Their servants wound people with their claws." Aboutthese conditions. Bhai Gurdas has also said:

"The kings are sinners and, instead ofprotecting thepeople, they are plundering them."

Similar conditions prevailed in India during the laterperiod ofthe Mughals.** Mughals. after years' of intensive historical research, Bhai .


74 B/JAY SINGH

On :heir way to Lahore, the hands and feet of theseprisoners had been tied and each one o:them was gl:ardedby two soldiers. After about two days' journey, early onemorning, tl:e 'Jamacar' !1ap;>ened to see Sheel Kaur whosehands had got inflamed w:th the cords with which theywere tied. Even 12:s heart me~ted at the sight of her painand anguish and he ordered the :-emoval ofher hand cuffs,as also that ofher sop.. However, he ceputed an additionalsoldier to guard over them.

At nightfall, the party stopped at a wayside iIh'1, whe:-e,while all o:her.priso:lers had to suffer the uS'Jal ha:-dships,Sheel Kaur and her son were lodged in a comparativelyneat and clean place and were proviced with good mea~

and beddings.The wise Sheel Kaar :laturaliy had some misgiv:ngs

about this change of attitude and had a foreboding thatsome trouble might !Je in the offi:lg. Like a lull before thestorm, there had been always peace and calmness beforeevery tragedy that had befalien her. Immersed in suchthoughts, she managed to put her son to sleep. Herself,keeping awake, she began to recite the holy hymns whoseenchanting echoes created an atmosphere of heavenlybliss by about mid~night. Divested ofworry by then, her

Ka:am Singh writing abollt the contenporary ru:ers says:

1. The administration in those days was so loose that most ofthe villages, big or small, ever lay in fear of pbnder at thehands of dacoits. (Banda Bahadur, p. 32)

2. Because o£' the atrocious behaviour of the officials in the farflung areas, the poor peop:e ~here we!"e always suffering andstarving. (Ibid. p. 43)

3. Ever. when not in service the Qazi, the Sayyids and theSheikhs were so ewe: towards the peo?ie, that they weregenerally sick of the!11. (I~id. p.57)


BIJAY SINGH 75

mind was perfectly at peace and attuned to God. Wheneverybody in the world was asleep except the sick and theascetics, somebody knocked at the door of Sheel Kaur,but, she did not stir. A little later the door was broke openand a soldier announced that the 'Jamadar' wished tosee her. Sheel Kaur kept silent and, like a marble statue,remained undisturbed. The more he called her, themore she withdrew hersel: into a state of concentration.Finding her in that condition, the soldier got scaredand going back to the 'Jamadar' apprised him of !lercondition. A very strong wind was then blowing. A coupleof other soldiers came there. As they tried to peep intothe room of Sheel Kaur, they fell back at what they saw.One of them lost his head, while, the other was struckwith awe. Just as, at the sight of a snake, people usuallywatch it from a distance with help ofa lamp, but are afraidto draw near it, similarly, the soldiers, sigh~ing her in thelight of the burning lamp, could not muster courage tostep into the room. Sheel Kau:, by then, was so muchabsorbed in meditation that if in that state her very headhad been chopped off, she would not have come to nowabout it. She was not unconscious, but, to any observer,she did give such an impression.

On coming to know about her condition from variouspersons, the 'Jamadar' also got afraid. Howeverstonehearted and evil-intentioned a person may be thethought of some unforeseen danger aiways invokes fearin him.

The' Jamadar' , no doubt, was an evil person, but hedid have some moral grounding. Inspite ofthe unhealthyeffect of association with the evil persons of his department, he was essentially not very hard ofheart. As a sense


....;7~6=--- B/JAY SINGH

offear overwhelmed him, he recalled to mind the storiesofthe saints about whom !1e had read in his own religiousliterature as also the sufferings they had to undergo at thehands of the tyrants. The manner in which 'Danial' wasthrown in front ofthe lions who, instead ofharming him,had started licking his feet and the miraculous escape ofMoses from the tyrannies of Pharaoh flashed before hismind. In the heart ofhis heart he was very much disturbedbut to keep up appearances before his subordinates, hepretended to talk with confidence.

Although he was looking very pale, yet, in a bidto beguile his subordinates he said with some affectedcourage "Let us go and see for ourselves". Hardly hadthey stepped out when the lamp was put out by the strongwind. The pitch darkness made the night all the moredreadful and at the howl ofan owl they were all the morestricken with fear. The shrieks ofthe storm and the roarsofthe clouds overwhelmed them with such awe that theybegan to be haunted by some imaginary figures. Theymanaged another lamp and started again. When theyreached near the hut, the man with the lamp stumbledand the lamp fell from his hands. Another person whotried to retrieve the lamp also fell down in the attempt. Asthe' Jamadar' tried to peep into the room, he !1ad theimpression ofseeing a fire, which, though aflame, yet didnot harm the mother and the child. 1be moment he steppedonto the threshold of the door, he felt intense heat andimmediately drew back. One of his coEeagues had theimpression of seeing a lion circling around the motherand her son and feeling that it was roaring at him, hedropped down with fear. In the flash ofthe thundering andlightning, all of them had the illusion of seeing a saintdirecting the angels of death to take away the'Jamadar'and his soldiers and throw them into the raging fires ofhell. By then, it was raining very heavily and a strong


BIJAY SINGH --------- 77

storm was blowing. One ofthe soldiers saw as ifthe angelwas aiming a heavy mace at them. He got so 1TIuch scaredthat he became unconscious and fell down on the ground.In a bid to eradicate this sense of fear from their minds,the awe-stricken 'Jamadar' asked one ofhis men to bringQazi Ruk-un-din to help them by reciting holy versesfrom the Quran . From the days of Ba~da Bahadur, theMuslims in general were under a strong impression thatthe Sikhs were gifted with some Holy Words which hadinvested them with supernatural powers. The 'Jamadar'was now convinced that the lady was reciting the sameholy words by which the Sikhs managed to save themselves. As a confirmation he recalled that whenever hehappened to see her during the day she was all thc timereciting something in her mouth. By then the'Mufti' hadalso arrived there but, having heard about the happenir.gsthere he too was so much panic-stricken that he did notdare to look into the room. At the Jamadar's bidding toohe began to recite 'Kalma' (the verses from Quran) buthis voice was not very coherent.

Now, thc very earth appeared to bc bursting under theimpact of the raging storm and the thundering clouds.Stricken with terror, as the Mufti and the soldiers tricd torun away from the place, their clothes got entangled witha tree. Thinking that they had been seized by some ghost,they got so afraid that all of them fell down. In a fit ofterror the' Jamadar' had the feeling ofseeing many ghostlyforms. As he tried to run he happened to see a bolt oflightning rising from the firc of the hut whict he felt,thundering past, had hit him with great force. He droppcddown with fear and felt his clothes to be on fire. He criedin great pain feeling sure that the angel of death hadthrown him into the hcll ofburning fire which showed nosign ofany let up in its fury.


78

CHAPTER - XlI

BIJAY SINGH

Let us see what is the nature of the happenings asdescribed in the previous chapter? Such situations doarise out of firmness of faith on the part of the devoteeslike Sheel Kaur, and the divine benediction with whichthey are blessed by God. Like all true Sikhs, Sheel Kaurhad decided to face the impending danger to her honour atall costs. She resolved to sit in meditation on God and notto move from that place even at the cost ofher very life.Such types of devotees, the God has ever saved.

"The saints' honour, God e'r upheld. Prehlad Hesaved, Hamakash He felled."

The yogis also confirm that ifa person meditates onGod with devotion and singie-mindedness, he acquiresextraordinary powers which enable him to performmiracles. Similarly, the single-minded devotion ofSheelKaur earned her the divine benediction. When she sat downfor prayers, she was feeling helpless with no hope for anyhelp. However, her only co?cem was to breathe her last ina state of communion with God. But, the loved Lord ofthe devotees, set afoot awe-inspiring natural forces likerain, stonn, hails, lightning and earthquake to save her.The muslims also attribute miraculous powers to theirholy word and their Scriptures con~ain many accounts ofthe manner in which some innocent persons' sufferings atthe hands ofthe tyrants had been ultimately saved by God.That evening the ';amadar' and his soldiers had beentalking about such accounts ofwhich the effect was all themore accentuated by excessive dozes of liquor. The darkhours of the night, the clouds, the rain, the lightning


BIJAY SINGH 79

and the storm all had combined to create an awefulatmosphere which became all the more terrifYing with thetremors ofthe earth. When the Qazi and the 'Jamadar' hadrun towards the tree for shelter, there was a lightning. It sohappened that the lightning which usually falls on thetrees fell on the very tree under which they were standing,as a result of which they were standing, as a result ofwhich they were killed. Those of their colleagues who,out of fear, were sitting inside did not immediately cometo know about the death of their 'Jamadar' because ofthe grim struggle that was then being raged between thenatural forces like rain, storm and lightning etc.

As the piety and -divine devotion of Sheel Kaurinvoked the Lord' love, some of the helpless drunkards,lying in fear, gotkilledwith lightning. In the morning, whenthe soldiers and the prisoners came out of their shelters,they saw four of the soldiers lying dead, having beenstrickenby lightning. Two others were somuch frightenedthat they could not move. Itwere these two who ultimatelyrelated the happenings ofthe previous night to those whohad been sitting indoor. All ofthem were taken aback bywhattheyheard. One ofthe 'Havaldars' assumedthe duty ofacting' Jamadar' and after burying the dead bodies, theymoved ahead. Theywere now so much afraid ofSheelKaurthat they did not dare to harm her. On the other hand, theywere rather inclined to sympathize with her. At first theyhad a mind to disclose everything out, the thoughtthat theywouldbe condemned as cowards by the people, preventedthem from doing so. Therefore, the tragic episode ofthestrike oflightning alone was told.

Sheel Kaur came to now about the happenings oftheprevious night through overhearing the soldiers talkingamong themselves. She thanked God for saving her life


80 BIJAY SINGH

and her honour. "but for God's help, I would have beentotally ruined" , she felt.

By that time, like the scorching heat ofsummer noon,Mir Mannu's reign of terror in Punjab was at it hig!lestpitch. There was not a single town or a village in which theSikh could live safely and as such, they had to seek shelterinjungles and hills. Those of them who got caught weremercilessly put to death. Whenever and wherever theSikhs were captured, they were sent to Lahore where theywere put to death according to Muslim code.

When a nation falls from the high ideals of a truereligion, it uses religion only as a cover to do highlyirreligious acts. Those truely religious are always simpleand un-assuming while irreligious always pretend to bevery pious. During the last days ofthe Mughal rule, moreoften than not, the then rulers ofPunjab used religion as aninstrument for the advancement ofnothing but irreligion,because, while pretending to rule in the name ofreligion,they were, in actual practice, tyrannizing over the innocentpeople. The opportunists and the sycophants supportedthe government for selfish interests and thus enlarged thescope ofoppression. They would oftenjoin MirMannu toofferpublic prayers, but while they solicited divine favoursfor themselves, they never thought of showing the sarr..ecompassions and considerations to others. Theirs wereonly lip prayers and as such couid not propitiate the Lordbecause in actual practice they tookpleasure in tyrannizingover people, whom they condemned as infidels. Truereligion is something totally different.

About twenty Sikhs, the brave sons ofGuru Gobi:ldSingh, with their hands and feet tied, were made to stand inline in an open space. They looked like caged lions. Aseemingly pious person, with a long grey beard, who


BIJAY SINGH 81

sincerely believed himselfto be very compassionate, triedto persuade them to accept Is~am in a very sweet voice.

However, neither waves of sweet words nor threatshad any effect on the Sikhs who stood firm like rocks inthe sea. Just as a gem remains a gem even if it happens tofaU in mud, similarly, a true Sikh always remains a Sikh nomatter in whatever company is he thrown and how greatthreats are made to him. When the persuation failed tomake them forsake their religion, then, at a signal fromMir Mannu, three or four persons came forward whowere the very personification of darkness. Like a darknight, accompanied at times by grey clouds, they wereloaded with pots ofoil and bales ofcotton. Ibese 'Jallads J

wrapped the Sikhs in the cotton in the same manner inwhich the 'Poorbias' make idols of'Hanuman' on the eveof the Holi festival. The hands and the feet of the Sikhswere tied to a distant peg to prevent them from moving.Just as oil is offered to a bridegroom at the time of hisriding the mare, similarly, oil was sprinkled on the Sikhs.The grey cotton turned yellowish, like the robes ofKrishna,by the oil and SHms, the beloved sons ofthe Guru, lookedlike bridegrooms riding the Earth Mare. Instead of thestrings offlowers, they were wearing the chains. Strangeindeed was this marriage procession. There was nobodyaround to sing the marriage songs. Therefore, the Sikhsthemselves started singing the holy hymns in place ofmarriage songs:

"To Thy will, 0 Lord, I shall gladly submit.Nanak craves for Thy Name's sweet gift."The spectators were wonder-struck at the sight. They

had expected that in the face of the terrible death, theSikhs would beg for mercy. But, little did they realize that

..: ;.


82 _~_~__BIJAY SINGH

they were the brave sons of Gun: Gobind Singh who arenever afraid and never beg for :nercy.

Khalsaji, aren't you touched by the fearlessness, thebravery and the firmness ofthe faith ofyour forefathers?Doesn't the flood of tears gl1sh forth ~hrough your eyestearing down your granitelilke carelessness? Just :nark,how finn and steadfast these valiant souls were in theirFaith. Like a dutiful and chaste wife, they were alwaysready to sacri:5ce ther.lselves at the altar of Truth. Theywere the worthy Sikhs who, forsaking their homes ar.dhearths, were every-ready to die for the sake of theirreligious convictions. The whole Panth has ever drawninspiration from these courageous sons of Guru GobindSingh who upheld the cause oftheir Faith ever.. at the costof their lives. Their valiar.t example has ever helpedtheir descendants to be more steadfast in their convictions,and to sacrifice themselves for their religion. It wasthe courage and convictions of the brave souls whichemancipated India from the tyranny ofthe later Mugcals.Blessed indeed were these brave Sikhs. They hardenedthemselves against a:I forms of tortures, braved a~l

attempts to kill them and fmstrated all plans to extemlir..atethem root and branch. Death, for them, was like the Nectar.To tread on the edge ofa sword was for them like drinkingthe Nectar of Immortality. The more were they torturedand tyrannized over, the bolder did they grow like lions.They always found new Efe in death.

Let us now see as to what did happen to these Sikhsprisoners. Straws, sticks, bark oftrees and broken basketswere placed around them a.fld set on fire in the hope that as


BIJAY SINGH 83

heat and smoke reached the Sikhs they would be obligedto beg for mercy. The smoke going to their heads alwayscauses a state of dizziness. However, the Sikhs began torecite the holy hymns and refused to be cowed down bythe danger even as it was drawing closer and closer. Forsometime they did manage to retain consciousness andtill then they continued to recite the Lord's Name. Thereafter, as the fire engulfed them their voice became still.

a god offire, you may now do whatever you like andmay make as many onslaughts on the sacred bodies oftheSikhs as you please. Nothing is going to be of any avail.The substance you were commissioned to destroy in themhas already left their bodies. The precious article is nomore there for which you have been tyrannizing overthese innocent souls. The immortal soul is beyond thereach offire or water and has already flown to the feet ofthe Holy Father. Despairing at last, the fire gave way,cooled down and appeared to repent with a face grownpale. In the end it turned into ashes and settled on theheaps of the bones. Flying with the wind, its flakesultimately defiled its own head.


84

CIIAPTE'R - XIII

BIJAY SINGH

After the fall ofLakhpat, Diwan Kaura Mal managedto brbg about a reapproachment between the Sikhs andMir Mannu who gave the area ofPatti as a 'Jagir' to theSikhs. For about three years thereafter, the Khalsa iived inpeace which helped them to flourish. In 1808 Sa!TIbat(1751 A.D.) when Ahmad Shah invaded Punjab again,about thirty thousands Sikhs had then come to the help ofMir Mannu. For a couple ofmonths they were engaged inthis fight in which Diwan Kaura Mal got killed. When in1809 (1752 A.D.) Ahmad Shah went back to Kandharafter installing Mir Mannu as his vassal at Lahore, hebroke all agreements with the Sikhs whom he began topersecute once again. After Banda Bahadur, the Sikhs,who were actively engaged in fighting, did not marry and hence were known as Bhujangis. These 'Bhujangis' nowretired to the jungles or the marshes to escape from thewrath ofMir Mannu, while the married Sikhs living withfamilies were caught and sent to Lahore where they wereput to death after being subjected to various types oftortures. Some of the accounts of these unfortunateSikhs have already been given. At the behest of theenemies of the Sikhs, Mir Mannu, now, did not, spareeven the Sikhs women and their children. One such groupof Sikh women had recently fallen into the hands ofMirMannu and was imprisoned at a place near the Mosquewhere Bhai Taro Singh had been martyred. Sheel Kaurand her son, who had been brought to Lahore, were alsolodged in this very prison. ';'hese WO!TIen were notpale-faced, misguided, timid, deceitful or irreligious with


BIJAY SINGH 85

little love for their Guru. They were rather deeplyreligious with a firm belief in the oneness of God. Theyhad no faith in any ofthe false rituals. They could not evendream of abdicating their Faith for the sake of worldlycomfOlis. They were not the sort ofmothers who, for thesake ofbegetting a son, would propitiate the graves or, thecemetaries or would fall a victim to withcraft. They wererather the mothers who would voluntarily send their sonsto the battle fields; the wives who disdaining all fashionswould rather see their husbands dead than return alivedefeated in the battle field where they were sent with theexhortation.

"Be you brave my Lord and give a real fight,Uphold thou thy honour matters not how tight.In that shall ever lie, our honour and our glory.And I shall then enjoy a wedlock real and hoary."

They were the sisters who would bless thus their brothers. going to war:

Fight bravely 0 Brother, do or be dead,N'er show thy back, ev'n ifyou lose thy head."And they were the daughtes who, on hearing the news

oftheir father's martyrdom, would say:"My father has become immortal,Not to be born or die again,I'do never be an orphan,For, he'd live for ever and ever again."It was to test the conviction of these brave women

that the divine will had called upon them to prove inpractice what they had ever been proclaiming.

Torn apart from their husbands they had been throwninto prisons to suffer at the hands oftyrants who for daystogether let them rot in that condition. Once, in twentyfour hours, each ofthem would getjust a coarse loafwith

.,


86 B/JAY SINGH

some water. They could neither take a bath nor have anyfacility to wash. They were not allowed to laugh or relax.Like the inmates ofhell they were feeling very filthy andtheir children were crying with hunger. However it wasamazing to find those, who had no children to suppo~,

voluntarily surrender a part oftheir food to those who hadchildren to feed. Thus, they shared each other's sufferings and difficulties. They passed their days by recitingthe holy hymns and meditating on their Guru. MeanwhileMil' Mannu issued an order that they should either acceptIslam or grind at least one and a quarter maund ofgrain onpain ofbeing whipped at failure to do so. Very soon afterthe formal proclamation ofthis order, hand-mills ap..d thegrains were placed before each of the prisoner. Takingthis to be the divine will ofthe Lord, they offered prayersand decided to suffer it with courage and conviction.Those ofthem who had no children and came from ruralareas managed to finish their job by the day-break, but, thecomparatively richer women ofthe towns were very muchhard put to it. Nevertheless, they tried to mitigate theirsufferings by reciting the holy hymns and by recalling thetortures and tyrannies through which Guru Gobind Singh,Guru Teg Bahadur and Guru Arjan Dev had to pass. Thisforced labour was having a very telling effect on them.Their hands were blistered and their arm muscles got somuch strained that it became difficult for them to movetheir arms. Some ofthese :adies were so much exhaustedthat their waists seemed to be unabl~ to bear the weight oftheir bodies. Sheel Kaur was one such woman who hadbeen brought up in comfort and who was used to a largenumber ofmaid servants who were always at her beck andcall. She was now caught up in very agonizing conditionfor no other fault except her will to uphold her religion.


BIJAY SINGH 87

Her fair and come~y arms had turned red and her facehad faded with exhaustion. Seeing this her innocent childpleads thus with her, "Mother dear, please take a littlerest and meanwhile, let me grind for a while.' But, themotherly love did not allow her to give such a hardjob toher son. However, when she was absolutely drained ofallstrength and her son was too insistent she did at last lifther hand from the mill. Her son, delicate like a rose, triedto work it but, could not and had to gasp for breath almostimmediately. It is very difficult to imagine the agonizingconditions through which these women had to pass then.Those of them who were comparatively stronger andmanaged to finish their hard job, despite their own tiredness, readily offered a helpiJ?g hand to the weakers amongthem. At times, two of them combined to grind together.Once, a healthier woman, Dhano by name, on seeing thecondition ofSheel Kaur, started weeping and said to her,"Dear, you are just like 'Sundri'. That pious soul was alsoin great agony like you. However, she never lost hear.:.Alas, she died only a couple of days back." She relatedthis to Shee1 Kaur while offering her a helpi:lg hand.

After retiring from the day's hard labour these braveSikh women would pray thus to God:

"0 Immortal God, ourLord, bless us with thy faith. Wemay be weaker in body but our minds are strongthrough thy grace which has blessed us with sublimeTruth and Righteousness. Piease uphold the honour ofThy devotees. May we never lose our Faith, whateverthe tortures. May we be dismembered like Bhai ManiSingh rather than forsake our convictions. May we be°a sacrifice unto You, our I..-ord, the very embodimentof'~ruth and Love. May we rather lose our lives than


88 BIJAY SINGH

our Guru. May we lose everything than our religion.May we fall by the sword than fall for falsehood."Such prayers helped those ladies to withstand the

tortures that were being perpetrated on them. Whenever aTurk tried to woo them or threaten them, they would ~eact

like lio~esses. To pressurize them, they were denied eventhe meagre meals for a day or so. Thus, at times, they hadto do the hard !abourwithout even a morsel offood.

How car.. the agony ofthese conditions be appreciatedby those who have four full meals a day and to digestwhich they have to take the aid of soda water and otherdigestive elixirs. What do they kr...ow abo~t the pangs ofhunger who, in the name offasting, enjoy all sorts ofdaintydishes? But the persons who have themselves undergonethe agony of starvation would tearfully vouchsafe thathunger is worse than even death.

One day these Sikh women were severely whipped.However, havi!lg imbibed the teachings ofSri Guru GranthSahib, they developed such a Srm faith in the Ideals ofTruth and Righteousness that they stood this torture mostheroically.

One of the torturing ladies came from the sameplace to which the parents of Sheel Kaur belonged. Assuch, she was aware of the heroic manner in which herfather had suffered martyrdom alongwith Tara Singh ofVan. Shee1 Kaur was her only daughter who was marriedoffby her uncle to the son ofChuhar Mal in order to havea case decided in his favour. On seeing her sufferings, thislady could not help sympathizing with her and said to her;

"~he child must take after its father ~n howsoevermeasure it may be. 0 my dear, how could you everlive in the house of a person like Chuhar Mal? I am


BIJAY SINGH 89

sure it must have beenyou who initiatedyour husbandinto Sikhism and made him suffer martyrdom. Yourmother also died in great agony and now, like yourparents, you too are caught in the whiripool. Theprogeny ofthe Sikhs aiways reveal their true colour,sooner or later."Although this lady had been deputed to tyrannize

over the Sikh women, yet being after all a human being,she could not help sympathizing with SheeI Kaur. Goingto the house ofChuhar Mat she infonned her mother-inlaw about everything. The old lady who was alreadyin great distress was extremely pained to learn aU that.However, she was a woman of great wisdom and soundsagacity. Appeasing the Turk lady with money, she pleadedwith her to help release her daughter-in-law as well as hergrandson and bring them to her. The clever lady did try totake them out but her efforts could not succeed.

Amazed at the heroic steadfastness of the Sikhwomen, one day Mir Mannu personally came there topersuade them to renounce their religion. He met with aflat refusal. According to Giani Gain Singh: "Mir Mannutold them that if they accepted Islam, they would beprovided with all the comforts of the world. However,they firmly refused the offer saying, 'God in his mercyhas blessed us with the True Faith in order to redeemus. All other religions are false having renounced thegodly way. Why then should we forsake the genuine Gemofour Faith for the sake ofa false one? What is the use ofliving in the world after abdicating our religion? As faras physical afflictions, distress, hunger and pain areconcerned, one has to suffer them in accordance withone's past deeds, no matter to what religion one mayhappen to belong".


9o _ BIJAY SINGH

On hearing this answer Mir Mannu flew into a rageand said, "God knows what stuff these infidels are madeof? Their convictions are as tough as their physical constitution."

Mir Mannu issued some new orders. At once a coupleofsoldiers rushed forward, surrounded the prisoners andsnatched the chiidren from their mothers. They wouldnow throw up a child in the air like a ball and then take iton a spear as it tended to drop. The spear pierced throughthe child and writhing in anguish and crying pain it died ingreat distress. The scene has been described in the PanthParkash in these words:

"Snatching children from their mothers,And, willfully right in their faces,In the air they were thrown,Pulling roots, thus, their ownMany were tkane on the spear,And killed in a way barbaric sheer."One can well imagine the fate of the mothers in

whose very presence their children, yea, their very dearchildren were thus mercilessly ki:1ed and they had towatch the horrible sight in a state of utter helplessness,having first been tied down. In the state of such agony,even tears dry up in eyes. However, the brave Sikhmothers bore it all most heroically and prayed to God,'0 God! Pray, redeem Thy children in Thy lap which isever cosy and comfortable.'

At the tum ofShee! Kaur's son, Mir Mannu was socompletely un-nerved by 6e sight of her beautiful facethat he suddenly ca:med down like a fire on which coldwater hac oeen thrown. Thus, fo!' ~he child had escaped


B/JAY SINGH 91

through the efforts ofthe lady referred to above, who hadbeen managing to save him on one pretext or the other.But alas, she could not conceal the illumined soul underthe thin well ofher cleverness for a long time. Let us nowsee how MirMannu deals with these individuals. After allthe atrocities he had committed on the Sikhs, he could notbe expected to show any mercy to them. His sick andparalyzed mind could not harbour any feeling ofcompassion, mercy or sympathy towards any human being, muchless the Sikhs. As such, he could not possibly treat SheelKaur differently. But, just as every cloud has a silver lining.Similarly, sometimes some good comes out of an evilact also. When Mir Mannu saw the beautiful face ofSheel Kaur, his wrath gave way to lust and a desire tomake her his Begum (wife) welled up in him. He issuedimmediate orders that she should be sent to his palacealongwith her son.

Wazir: My Lord, when all the tortures and tyranniesincluding the killing oftheir children have failed to inducethem to accept Islam, do you really expect her to do so?

Mannu: Do you think these women will be able tohold on to their religion? I just wanted them to renounceit voluntarily and I shall wait for some more days. Ifthey are still adamant, I shall forcibly marry them off toMuslims. This moon-faced woman would receive such atreatment right to-day, because I am going to marry her.As for the rest, starve them for the night and throw thepieces oftheir children into their laps.


92 ___~ ~/JAY SINGH

CHAPTER -_. XlV

Sheel Kaur and her son were brought to the royalpalace where their bonds were removed. A number ofmaid servants were dep:lted to attend on them and theywere provided with every comfort, including the silkenrobes and valuable ornaments. Some ofthe eiderly womentried to persuade S~eel Kaur to agree to the proposalof renouncing of her Faith and becoming the Queen ofPunja~. 'Your writ shaH then run from Attock to Sutlej ar.dpeople all over the country shall hold you in very highes!eem', they told her. Wit!1 her head cast down, SheelKaur was sitting like a Jessamine plant surrounded by'Ber' trees. She was feeling extremely pained at th~se

words but unfortunately no body cared to peep into herbleeding heart.

She felt very m'.lch pained at what her unwantedso-called frier-ds had suggested. At their un-sought-forsuggestions, tear-drops continued to fall from her eyes.The more they tried to beguile her with promises ofworldly wealth and comforts, deeper became her agonyalmost strangu:ating her. She had so far braved all sorts oftortures and tyrannies and had refused to be cowed downby them, but now she was very much upset and agitated atthe words ofthese people who, in all humility were tryingto allure her with the prospects ofpower and pelf. However, she was determined, more than ever before, to facethis new challenge. Weighed down by utter helplessness,she, at first, did feel like losing ground from under herfeet. But, that did not mean that any ofthe allurements had


BlJAY SINGH 93

an effect on Sheel Kaur. What she was worried about wasthe fact that the enemy instead of physical torutres, wasnow trying to cause her mental agony by wooing her. Justas all the arms ofthe enemy had failed to instil fear in themind of Sheel Kaur. Similarly, the approaches of lovecould not shake her from her resolve. However, she wasvery much worried and was thinking about the manner inwhich she might save her honour. She was all the timeaware of the danger inherent in these seemingly sweetovertures and was trying to compose herself in order tobe able to think clearly. Just as, sometimes, a devotee,while meditating, gets lost after the manner of a divercleansing a well, similarly, in utter disappointment, hernerve seemed to fail her and she lost all consciousness.

The Sikhs ofto~day, men andwomenboth, must learn alesson from Sheel Kaur. The enemity of the Turks hadfailed to cut ice against the Sikhs. However, new religionsare now posing new dangers to our Faith through sweettalks and all types ofinducements and allurements. Bewareof their love and their gifts, otherwise they are bound toengulfyou. About a hundred years ago, Sikh women, likeSheel Kaur, had recognized this danger and had faced itsquarely. Let us learn a lesson from such devout womento be finn in our Faith and not allow any inducements,sympathies or aggressions to deflect us from our religion.*

o yedear Sikh women, grieving widows and sufferingwives of the wayward husbands, the world being full ofdeceit and fraud, there is need for you to be very alert.Books like 'Sundri' wi~l enable you to safeguard yourreligious convictions against all types ofaggression, but,

* At the time of writing this book, the Christians were trying toallure innocent persons to their religion through ail types ofinducements.


94 BIJAY SINGH

you must also be ~eware of sweet overtures, which aredangers in disguise. Human life is a rare boon and assuch, it is O1.:r primary duty to uphold our honour andour Faith. You being teeder··heated, the imposters tryto beguile you with various baits like appeasement andoffers ofhelp in your difficulties. But, like Sheel Kaur, youmust be firm in your convictions. Besides such imposterssometimes close relatives, domestic servants and nearkith and kin also try to play this game. Always be onYOllr guard agaies: such dangers in this dark age. Woridlycomforts are a~ways of a fleeting nat1.:re and their endinvariably is very bitter. Tc.e righteousness, on the otherhand, bestows the blessings ofboth the worlds, here andhereafter. Therefore, always be very virtuous and dwellin its happiness and comfort. Beware ofevil no matter ifit comes in the form of a frier.d or a foe, because poisonous snake is always dangerous whether it comes out fromwithin the house or from without. Now don't be underthe impression that Sheel Kaur was either afraid orbeguiled. She was a lion··hearted woman. Though tenderhearted, yet she was gifted with a strong CO!11ffiOn sensewhich convinced her 6at new danger in the fonn ofsweetovertures would have to be faced with tact and wisdomrather than with force. Therefore, like Sheel Kaur, everyone of us should be brave and wise enough to guardourself against bot!l awe and affection ofthe enemy.

Sheel Kaur was fully aware that it was impossible forher to escape :rom t~at place and was equally difficult toelude the enemy. As such she was at a loss to hit upon aplan to find a way to combat the impending danger. Herson, her main stay in pain and pleasure both, sitting closeby, was aware of the enemy danger but, was unable toappreciate the mental agony of her mother. He was


B/JAY SINGH 95

puzzled by the growing griefofher mother at the sight ofthe articles of luxury presented to her with affected joy.Throwing his anns around her neck, he asked her tenderly,'My dear mother, why are you so upset. Why don't youfeel glad that the r . TU has relieved us ofour difficulties' .She was so muc, .0uched by the innocence of the childthat she began to weep. Tearfully, she hugged him closelyand placing his head on her bosom began to caress him. Atthis heart-rending sight all the maid servants left andreported the matter to the Nawab. Left alone, Sheel Kaur,tried to gather her thoughts and courage. Her conditionthen was like that of a wooden piece which swims to thesurface from under water after breaking away from aniron weight tied to it. At the fall ofdusk, the mother andthe child closed the door ofthe room and started recitingthe evening prayers (REHRAS). Bl~ssed indeed is Godwhose prayers had such an amazing effect on Sheel Kaurthat she regained her courage and the Sikh Spirit. Herheart which had lost all hope, now regained its strengthjust as a bereaved person feels consoled on meeting a lostbrother. Sheel Kaur now suddenly had a feeling that Godwas pervading all around her and would offer her aU helplike a true friend. She gained courage in the convictionthat God would not forsake her in her difficulties andwould safeguard her honour by leading her out of theimpending danger. The feelings of gratitude and selfconfidence came to abide in her heart like the divineguards sent by the Lord. Thus, just when Shed Kaur hadlost all hope ofany support from any quarter, God Himselfcame to her rescue at her prayer:

"When all hopes are lostAnd all supports are gone,


96 BIJAY SINGH

Harm can touch us not,Remember ifwe God."She was so much overwhelmed by the feelings of

gratitude that in a state of happiness and hunger (for aunion with God) tears began to roll down her cheeks. Allthrough the night, Sheel Kaur was engaged in offeringprayers of gratitude. To mitigate their distress, peoplegenerally resort to counting of stars at night. Instead oftreating them as mere stones and balls offire, Sheel Kaurlooked upon them as sources of light which helped her tomeditate on God. Thus, she passed her night by dwellingupon the virtues of God and His innate nature to upHoldthe honour ofRis devotees. Great is the Lord who cameto her help. Her heart thus cleared ofall doubts was nowfilled with new God-given courage. She was now able tothink clearly about the ways to come unscathed from theimpending danger.


B/JAY SINGH

CHAPTER-XV

97

The wife ofMir Mannu, Murad Begum whom manyhistorians refer to as 'Mughlani Begum', was as clever awoman as she was beautiful. She had complete sway overher husband and had manoeuvred to rise to the position ofthe first Queen. On the aforesaid night, Mir Mannu hadhis drinks in her first floor room. His wife made him playto her tune and in a state of intoxication, he told hereverything about Sheel Kaur and also about IUs intentionto make her his Begum. Mughlani Begum, on hearing thisbecame bitter withjeaiousy. On one pretext or the other,she managed to administer more and more liqlior to herhusband, till by midnight he lost all consciousness. Now,she came out on the outer balcony and sitting there beganto chalk out plans to avert the impending tragedy. Afterdeep thought, she stealthily came to that part ofthe placewhere Shecl Kaur had been lodged. Although the door ofher room was closed, yet, through a slit, she could seethat a lamp was burning and Shed Kaur was engaged inprayers. She was somewhat satisfied to find tha.t the gentleand innocent lady did not appear to be interested in themarriage. In fact, she seemed to regard as a tragedy toavert which, she was invoking the divine help. Fully convinced that it would not be difficult to tackle this lady, shewent to sleep.

The sun had hardly risen in the sky to cast its sharpgaze on the drowsing and pulsating people, when MuradBegum also opened her shaper than the sun eyes and castangry glances at her husband, who was halfdrunk and halfasleep. She rose from her bed and fanned him again to


98 B/JAY SINGH

sleep. After she had taken her bath and dressed herself,she woke her husband and helped him to dress. Afterserving him some breakfast she sent him to the court forofficial work, attended by two ofher trusted maid servantswho, after a little distance were replaced by two bodyguards enjoying the Begum's confidence. While the Nawabgot busy in the court attending to the difficult and complexproblems ofPunjab, the Begum came over to Sheel Kaurand, very soon, succeeded in winning her confidence.

Begum: My dear sister ofthe previous birth, you havemet me after ages. Please don't be upset and be assuredthat we do belong to each other. I am convinced that wehave been sisters in the previous life. Unfortunately,perhaps, because of my unmeritorious acts I have beenborn in a Turk family and am now obliged to live with it.Late last evening when I learnt about your being here, Iwas shocked. I didn't know what to do. Knowing as I dothat the daughters ofthe Sikhs uphold their honour at allcosts, I was worried about your personal safety. Drownedin such thoughts, I came over here stealthily to see formyself. At the very first sight ofyou, sisterly love welledup in my heart. I am more than convinced that you are mysister and as such, I have resolved to save your honoureven at the cost of my life. Administering excessivedrinks, I made my husband so unconscious last night thathe forgot all about you.

Sheel Kaur: (In great humility) May God bless youwith added power and pelf for having taken pity on ahumble person like me.

Begum: My dear sister, don't you ever think like that.The times no doubt are very hard when upright people arecoming to harm. It is only through cunning and clevernessthat we manage to live comfortably. Know that you being


BIJAY SINGH 99

God-oriented cannot approve ofsuch a thing but we haveto be worldly wise and as such believe in acquiring powerand pelfby hook or by crook. You are a really pious ladyand I feel like kissing your feet.

Sheel Kaur: 0 God, Respected Queen, you are therulers of the land. Although we are gifted with lion'scourage, yet, at present, we are your prisoners and hence,are completely at your mercy. I am obliged to you foryour assurance to save my honour and hence shall be gladto render you any service.

Begum: I only wish you to take me as your sister.Sheel Kaur: How can it be possible when you are the

Queen and I am your prisoner? Sisterly relations can beestablished only among equals and with mutual free will.

Begum: No, my dear sister, don't bother about suchthings. You are essentially an upright lady belonging,apparently, to some family gifted with piety and plenty.You are no more a prisoner and as such must accept meas your sister. You are a virtuous woman and through youI may be able to imbibe some ofthe Sikh values.

Sheel Kaur: I don't think I am worth aU that.Begum: Please don't be so self-effasive. If you do

not accept me as your sister, I will not take even a dropofwater.

Sheel Kaur: 0 blessed God. Please do not force melike that. I am even otherwise at your service for anyhonourable cause.

Begum: Ifthat is the case, then (her hand reachedout for her dagger.)

SheelKaur: 0 my God, what is this? (Seizingherhand)I have no hesitation in acceptingyou as my sister, but, beingfree and all powerful, you are in a position to honour yourcommitments while itmay bevery difficult for me, a mere


100 B/JAY SINGH

prisoner, to do so. Friendship last only between equal andfree individuals. I Sincerely wish you well but don't forceme to cali you a sister.

Begum: (Holding out the dagger) well, ifyou don'tagree then.....

Sheel Kaur: (Catching hold of her hand) No mysister, Don't you do that; I am ready to say anything.

At the very mention ofthe word' Sister', the Begumhugged her to her bosom and began to weep. 'My dearsister', she said', there is no one to share my grief, inspiteofthe fact that, besides my maids, there are many aroundme who profess to love me for their own selfish ends. It isonly to-day that a soul like your has met me throughGod's grace. I offer Him many thanks for having takenpity on me.

Sheel Kaur: It is rather I who should thank God forhaving blessed me with your friendship especially at a timewhen there is no body to share my sufferings. I pray to Himto grant me strength to keep my pledge taken to-day. I urgeupon you as well to give me a solemn commitment.

Begun: Please do let me know, dear sister, I promiseto stand by you through thick and thin.

Shee1 Kaur: You must promise to save my honourduring my detention here. Even if I have to give my lifefor this cause, you like a sister, shall have to stand by me.

Begum: In the name of Allah (God) I promise tosafeguard your life and honour till my last breath.

Sheel Kaur: (Closing her eyes) Blessed, blessed areyou, 0 my God, the Creator, I beg for your heip to redeemme. Let my husband also be saved and united with me.

Begum: Sister, where is your husband and how wereyou separated?


BIJAY SINGH 101

Sheel Kaur: The landlord ofa village situated on thebank ofriver Chenab belaboured him almost to death andthen imprisoned him. I am not awan~ofwhat happened tothem thereafter. However, on the eve ofmy departure tothis place I did see him alive, though I couldn't talk to him.(Her eyes were filled with tears)

Begum (Sponging her eyes) Please do not weep mysister. I promise to send for your husband and would notallow any harm to be done to him. Take it from me thatyour troubles are now over.

Sheel Kaur: I feel assured by your affections. But,although last night I was saved by your good offices, yethow long, after all, I would be safe at this place?

Begum: No body can dare to cast an evil eye on you,my dear sister, as long as I am alive.

Sheel Kaur: May you be blessled with good fortuneand with His fear.

Begum: Dear sister, you need have no fears if youcare to follow my instruction.

After these words the Begum It~ft deputing two maidservants to attend on Sheel Kaur. After taking bath themother and the son had their meals and then changed theirdresses. The maid servants took away the dirty clothes onthe pretext ofwashing them and handed them over to theBegum. The mother and the sonpassedthe day in a mood ofthanks giving to the Lord. bnmediat1ely after sunset, underorders ofthe Begum, Sheel Kaurwas shifted from thaihallto a distant first floor room alongwith the attending maids.

As the darkness spread after sunset, the Nawabquietly had some drinks in a smaU room. As his headreeled under the influence of intoxicants and as he lost allsense, he staggered towards the room where he had SheelKaur imprisoned. As he stepped into the room, he saw her


102 BIJAY SINGH

sitting in the same dirty clothes with a veil drawn over herface. He was very much annoyed, rebuked the maids andturned them out of the room. He now tried to talk to herin an incoherent and stammering voice. Concealed underthe veil and utterly shy, she refused to submit, at whichthe Nawab drew out his sword. She fell,at his feet withfolded hands. Like a victorious cock, the Nawab saidboastfully, "Do you see how have I made the wife ofSikhsubmit to my orders. (stammeringly) I would now makeyou my Begum and then you shall be known as the Queenof Punjab." When the Nawab was talking this rot andwas half asleep in a state of intqxication, the woman,meanwhile, changed her clothes but not before someonehad put out the lamp unobtrusively. The night passed ofas if in a trice, like the instant disappearance of a ray oflightning at mid-day or like the idea ofevil from a Yogi'smind that might have welled up in a bad cJmpany. Thefire was very soon reduced to ashes but it hadn't burntanything.

At day break, the Begum came to Shee1 Kaur glowinglike the spring sun. Shee1 Kaur was engaged in prayersafter the recitation ofJapji. Both the friends were happyto meet each other. The Begum congratulated her forherselfhaving succeeded in saving her honour last night.She also assured her that she had arranged the things insuch a way that her honour now shaH ever be safe and shewould be able to live like a lotus flower in water. "Nobody now dare CO$t an evil eye on you." Said she.

Sheel Kaur: My dear sister, I am extremely obliged toyou. You are just like a mother to me. I aIr.. grateful to theLord ofaigrette (Guru Gobind Sing..~) who has blessedyouwith mercy. But sister dear, may I kr:ow how could youmanage to save Ir.y honour.


B/JAY SINGH 103---Begum: This is something which canno~ be explained.Sheel Kaur: I will not insist however, ifpossible do

let me know.Begum: Sister, in view ofthe mutual confidence we

share there is no point in keeping anything back from you.J'vly husband is stil: under the impression that he has beenable to own you as his Queen. But, he has been duped byme. Wearing your clothes, sitting like you and pretendingto talk like you, I was able to playa trick on my husbandwho because of darkness, failed to recognize me. Thedarkness ofnight and his d~nkenness would enable me tobeguile him for sometime n~ore. By that time I shaH be ableto plan something else. The darkness ofnight spreads itscover on good and evil both a:ld treats them alike. It is thehouse of goodwill and has the nature of rain. It does notdiscriminate against anybody be he a :nurderer, a dacoit, athief, a saint or a yogi; it does not expose them. The sunand the moon, on tRe other hand, expose everybody. Notonly do they themselves behold the evil deeds ofthe peoplebut, like talkative persons, also expose them to the wholeworld. The stealthy eyes of the stars also expose peoplethough in a whispering way. The gentle darkness takes everybody under its cover, and tries to shield them. Itdoes not care to see evil in others nor does it allow anyone else to do so. Just as a gentleman, on seeing somebody stripped, lowers his eyes, similady the darkness, with

- its eyes closed, kee;,> the wr..eels ofits dark cr..ariot on themove without caring to dwell upon thl~ merits or demeritsof others. This very darkness has saved your honour, mydear sister. Therefore, darkness, for me, is like a truesaint, nay, it is the very embodiment ofGod. Just as Godbeholds every thing but does not scandalize and causesrain to fall in equal measures on the fields of good and


104 /?JJAY SINGH

evil both, similarly, the darlc1ess weighs aga~!1st none. Thedailrness in a \vay is lr..ore merited than even the God. Godbeholds everything, past, p:eSe!1t and the future, althoughhe is :(ir.d and compassionate. The darkness, however,refuses to see anything much less judge the evil saying,when everybody must suffer according to hislher actionsthen, why should I care to dwell upor. anybody's good orevil and there by discriminate against one or the other. '

SheelKaurwas verymuch up-set athearingthese cleverand disparaging remarks against God, and controllingherselfwith great difficulty said, "My dea: sister, howsoever you have managed, ;: am very much obliged to you.However, ifyou really take me as your sister then pleasebe advised.to desist from uttering any thing unbecomingthe glory ofGod in fl.:ture.

Begum: Yoa are right. We are also religiously enjoined upon not to do so.

When the Begum had left after this frank. exchangeof views, Sheel Kaur together with her son, prayed thusbefore God with folded hands, "0 Divine Father, I haveinadvertantly heard some disparaging remarks against You,pray excuse me for this sin and purify my heart. ! am notonly helpless but am also a prisoner. May I be freedthrough Thy grace."

At that time, as Mir Mannu was si~ing in his court,one of his intelligence men came to inform him that aband ofSikhs was hiding at a particular place. 1Ie immediately marched thither with some of his army units andcourtiers after sending a word to the Begum, that hewould be away for four or five days. On hearing this theBegum and Sheel Kaur were both relieved ofa great partof their worries.


BIJAY SINGH--'~-----.-

105

Enjoying himsel: and hur.ting enroute, the Nawabfinally reached the place where he intended to hunt formen. Close to viliage PINDORI1 there was a large sugarcane field in which a nuniber of Sikhs, young and old,women and children had been forced to take shelter. Inthose days these helpless people had to pass their days injungles and marshes and very often ~hey had to go withoutfood even for days together. The extremities of weatherand the thorny bushes had torn their clothes which hunglike the strings ofa canpoy over the head ofa bridegroom.They had been obliged to take shelter at his place andwere engaged in prayers when the soldiers pounced uponthem. The village people had also collected there andthere Was a loud hue and cry, as a result. The mothers andthe sisters of the people hiding in the field were bewai1~

ing. Some of the sikh ladies, including the motherand grandmother ofRattan Singh Bhangu had been givenshelter by the grandson ofDadoo Ram, a Bbairagi Mahant,in his house disguised in saffron clothes. At the loud andanguished cry of the villagers, Mir Mannu's horse gotstartled and he feU down. As the horse ran in panic,Mir Mannu's foot got entangled in the stirrup and hecontinued to be dragged along. Struck against the hard anduneven surface ofthe rough plateau, his head which waslike a big melon, was soon split apart right upto the nose.A trail ofblood was left berl~nd.where he had been draggedand it looked like the lengt!1y roll ofhis evil acts.

This is how Mir Mannu lost his life2. When his dead

___________·_0__ ~_

1. According to Rattan Singh Bhangu it was Pindori, while GianiGian Singh refers to it as Mulan Pur.

2. According to Khazain-i-Amra, Mir Man~u died on Muharam7, 1167 HijrL Umadut-twarikh believes it to be Katak Sud! 9,1810 Bikrami. :'hese dates correspond to 3rd and 4th Nov.1753 A.D. Latif's 1851 is therefore not correct and neitheris Gokal Chand r.;arang's 1752


106 B/JAY SINGH

body was brought to t.he capital by his compatriots, thenews ofhis death spread like oil on the surface ofwater.The army units whose arrears ofpay were outstanding forthe last many months, took hold of the dead body andrefused to hand it over for burial to Murad Begum untilshe paid a sum of rupees three I.akhs to clear thosearrears. All the night through, the Begum was engagedin collecting the sum which she paid to the armynext morning. It was only then that the dead body wasultimately handed over to her. It was then cremated withfull state honours.


BIJAY SINGH

CHAPTER - XVI

107

Let us turn our attention to Bijay Singh and the expeL'dences he had during this period. As already said, theSikhs, were passing their days in jungles, marshes and inhilly fastnesses and were biding for an opportune momentto capture, hit back and gain power. The poor and thelabourers alE.ong them, who were not in a position to jointhese bands were really hard put to and were in greatdistress. The bands ofthe Khals occasionally came out oftheir hide-outs to chastise the tyrants especially, now,when persons like Bijay Singh apprised these bands oftheSikhs about the atrocities being committed upon innocentSikh women and children, a wave of anger ran throughtheir ranks and they decided to make an assault onLahore. The band ofKarora Singh was the tirst to marchtowards Lahore like a river in flood. By this time BijaySingh too had come to know through Sabar Shah'smen that Sheel Kaur was also among the group of Sikhwomen who were being tortured at Lahore. He couldn'trestrain himselfand leaving behind love-lorn Sabar Shahdecided to join Karora Singh's band about whose intendedmarch to Lahore he had already leamt. Immediatelyafter joining the band, Bijay Singh earned recognition forhis prowess. Every body was full of admiration for thisson of rich parents who, forsaking aU comforts of life,had voluntarily adopted a very difficult path for the sakeofthe poor and the persecuted. He was greeted like a realbrother in sad contrast to the Sikhs of to-day who aredevoid of all such feelings for thc;:ir nation's prestige. ASikh to-day treats a feHow Sikh like a complete stranger,


BIJAY SINGH108-------------_._---==:.:.:........::.::.:.::..:::::..:....:.

while in earlier days, a Sik!l was immensely pleased tomeet fellow Sikh a.'1d even witbout any :o.:.1TIal ir-t-oductiionwas ever ready to offer him ai! help in hour ofneed.

The Khalsa was now o~ their march towards Lahore.Bijay Singh was in charge ofa small group besides cateringto some ofthe needs ofhis fel~ow Sikhs. Marching alor.ga comparatively sa:er route, the Kha~sa reached theoutskirts ofLahore one day at about dawn, and immediatelyattacked the place where their womenfolk were passingtheir days in great distress. Those ofthe guards who triedto resist were cu: to pieces, while the rest ran away inpanic. The victorious Sikh Sardars e~tered the underground cell after pu:Iing down a small wall. When they sawthe miserable plight oftheir womer.fol~(:hey were besidethemselves with rage. The decomposed pieces of thechildren's bodies were scattered all around while :heirmothers were bound hands and feet. Some of them hadbeen tied to the pillars while sti:1 others were eitheralready dead or were on their last breaths. Although theirclothes were :orn and their faces were pale like that ofMajnu, yet, :!ke the proverbial stone ofa dead snake therewas about them an aura ofbrightness imparted to them bythe melodious and the holy word WAHEGURU that wasbeing uttered by them. Bijay Singh and his reen cutthe bonds of these prisoenrs: Those of the sisters whosetom garmer.ts were insufficient to cover them fuHy wereprovided with sheets of cloth by Karora Singh and hiscompanions. Such was the sublime conduct of the pastSikhs sardars. ~n sharp contrast, innumerable families arebeing ruined to-day through drunkenness and craze forfashion. Still others are frittering away their ancestralproperties in useless luxuries and are tu~i!lgpaupers.


B/JAY SINGH 109

It was a treat to watch the sentiments of piety andhumility on the faces of the Sikhs and of gratitude andpraise on those oftheir womenfolk. The slogans of SATSRI AKA:L, WHAEGURU JI KI FATEH and DHANSATGURU were being raised all around. Although Lahorethen was ridden with strife in the wake ofthe death ofMirMannu and the resultant cont1icts among the Begum, thecourtiers and the army, yet even then, it was really a boidattempt to dare to assault the fortified Mughal Capital andto kill their people in that way. Each of the Sikhs nowcarried one of the ladies on the horse with himself andslipped away after they had set on fire the dead bodies andthe pieces of the dead children by collecting them at aplace. They halted in a jungle at a distance. They hadpurchased some eatables from a wayside village. Theytook off their waist-bands and had their bath in the riverRavi, flowing close by. After almost ages, the Sikh womencould find water for use. The meals were prepared andafter serving the ladies first and then the rest, KaroraSingh and Bijay Singh had their portion. According to theSikh tenets the leaders of the Nation (Panth) deem it anact ofhonour to serve others. The Sikh women were sentto their respective families. Those ofthern who had beenleft with no kith and kin were allowed to stay in the bandUatha) to redeem themselves by serving their brethrenin-distress. Bijay Singh could not know the whereaboutsof Shee1 Kaur. Although sometimes back he had heardthat Mir Mannu had forcibly taken her away to his palaceand that he had made her his queen, yet no body believedin these talks. Bijay Singh was fully convinced that ifhiswife was alive, then she would uphold her honour at allcosts and in case she was d~ad then she must have diedwith her honour intact. It is impossible for a Sikh womanto live with violated honour. People in general survive as


11 0 B=/J~~,L§.l_N_G_H

Long as there is life in them. For the Sikhs, however, theirhonour is their very life. They live with honour and diewith honour. No Sikh, be a man or a woman, wou:d everlike to live without honour.

It is becaase the Sikhs love the holy Name of Godand because Holy GURBANI has always been tl:eirmainstay that they believe in the dignity of man. Rightfrom the days ofGuru Gobind Singh, Banda Bahadur andthe Sikl: Sardars, the S~khs have adhered to the practice ofreciting daily prayers. It is, therefore, inevitabie that theyshould be gifted with quaiities oft!'Uth~hlness, sacrifice,goodwill and human feHow feeling.

When the news of the death of Mir Mannu becatr.ewidely known, the Sikhs came O'..lt of their hiding placeslike Sl:n at the end of the night. As a result there was agreat upheaval throaghout the length and breadth of theland. Persons who had been responsible for killing S~kh

women and childrer. from urban areas were the first to bechastised and punisl:ed at t~e hands of the Sikhs. According to'Panth Parkash the following persons and placescame in for particular chastisement at tl:e hands of theSikhs, for their inimical role against them. 1. Sarai (inn)Nuru Din 2. Kot 3. Majitha 4. Jandia~a 5. Neetha 6. Thefamily of Karma Chhina 7. The village of the RamRandhawa 8. Gnarian 9. DialaJat ofSaidewala 10. NathahuPanch ofBhoorewa~a 1~ .Aka~ Dass Ma.lJant ofHendal13.Ismail Khan: o!'Manda~ia 13. Ranghars ofButala 14. JatsofBundala 15. Aulia Kha.'1 16. Hasna Bhati 17. Gulaba ofMahalpur 18. Phagwara 19. Residents of Thaur 20. Anumber of informers 21. Pancbes ofNaushehra.

The Sikhs, thus, freed men at many places andpunished the culprits responsible for tyrannizing over


BIJAY SINGH 111

them. They were now all set to bring the land under theircontrol. But they had reckoned without the cunning MuradBegum. Immediately after the death of her husbandshe succeeded it! enlisting the support of the courtiers,the Omerahs and the ministers and thus managed to puther son on the throne and assume the reins of power inher own hands as his guardian. She sent secret emmisariesto Durrani, the Emperor of Kabul, requesting him toappoint her son as the Viceroy of Punjab with herself ashis regent. A similar request to the Emperor ofDelhi wasalso sent by her. Both the Emperors ratified in writing theappointment of her son, Amin-ud··din, as the Viceroy ofPunjab under her regency. The Kings ofKabul and Delhiboth regarded Lahore as a part of their respective kingdoms. As such, anyone aspiring for paramountcy in Punjabhad to keep both ofthem in good humour. After assumingthe reins ofpower the Begum tried to tighten her hold onthe State. For such a purpose, 'first of all, she orderedMomim Khan to restore law and order by curbing theactivities ofthe Sikhs. Bhikhari Khan was appointed as aminister, a golden mosque built by him is still standing atLahore. He was a very handsome and shrewd person underwhose guidance, the Begum was able to assert herse1flikeher late husband.

Shee1 Kaur and her son had been allowed to stay inthe royal palace. When Mir Mannu had left for his huntingexpedition, she had planned to eliminate the mother andthe son before his return, but before she executed thisplan she heard about the death of her husband and herattention was absorbed by other important matters. Andnow the presence of her adopted sister became a sourceof great strength to her. Having been convinced aboutthe soundness of her judgement and the loftiness of her


112 alJAY SINGH

character, the begum began to consult her in all importantState matters. Very often, she was highly pleased whenthe sound advice given by Sheel Kaur, helped her solveintricate state issues. As a result, she held Sheet Kaur invery high esteem and had developed genuine sympathyfor her. The Begum was also fond of Bhikhari Khan'scompany in her palace after the adjournment ofthe court.Sheel kaur strongly advised her against this practice;otherwise, according to her, it would not be possible forher to keep her rule intact. Acting on this advice, thoughreluctantly, the Begum realized that the courtiers too hadbeen feeling sore about it. Because ofsuch sagacity, SheelKaur, though still a prisoner, yet enjoyed a very honourable place. But, even then she was never in a happy moodand was always feeling distressed. The continued separation from her husband was weighing so heavily on hermind that but for her firm faith in God, she would havedied fo grief. Her body and soul were being kept togetherby her faith to abide int he will ofGod. Just as the pluckedflowers kept in cool water do survive for some daysthough not with the same bloom, similarly, Sheel Kaurwith her faith in God, managed to keep up her composurealthough inwardly she was worn by grief. The Begumwas fully aware of her condition and as such, was keen

-to find out her husband so that her worries could bemitigated. She was also aware that she herselfwould alsobe benefited as a result, because, a more sincere friendwould be hard to find. She called for information aboutBijay Singh from the chiefofthe area where Sabar Shahwas known to live. It was learnt through him that BijaySingh had joined the Sikh 'Jathas'. The Begum now


B/JAY SINGH 113

deputed some of her own men to find him out, givingthem details ofhis physical build-up.

As told above, the Sikhs at that time had become veryactive, for which reason, the Begum had deputed rovingunits ofthe army under the command ofMomin Khan tocurb them. After a series of small undecisive skirmishesthe Sikhs came into conflict with the Jats near Gujranwalawhom MominKhan had instigated against them. The Sikhslost some of their men, but the Jats were completelyrouted. In this conflict Bijay Singh gave a very goodaccount of himself. But, in the thick of battle, he was,:\,ounded in the leg. Unmindful of the pain he continuedfighting till his horse too was wounded as a result ofwhichit fell into a ditch in which a Sikh and two Mohammedanshad also fallen earlier, while fighting. This Sikh had killedmany ofhis opponents when two Mughal soldiers fell uponhim, in a desperate bid to kill him. VVhen the swords ofallthe three were broken they were locked in a hand to handfight. Till they got exhausted and feU in to this pit. The Sikhhad already left for his heav'enly abode while the two Turkswere struggling for life when Bijay Singh fell therealongwith his horse. As the Turks breathed their last, BijaySingh got unconsicous. The Sikhs, meanwhile, had left thefield after defeating the enemy and chastising the supporters. In great hurry ofwithdrawal, nobody took any notice ofBijay Singh who was lying face downward. He lay there allthe night through, completely unconscious and with threedead bodies around him. His leg was tangled in the trappings ofthe dead horse.

Very unfortunately, most of accounts of the Sikh,struggles, their feats ofbravery and the trials and tribulations, through which they had to pass, have not beenrecorded in black and white. However, whatever little hasbeen written, lies hidden in the pages of history because


114 BIJAY SINGH

the Sikhs, through carelessness; have utterly failed tohighlight them. As a result, most of the Sikhs to-day areunaware oftheir glorious past. Just mark the case ofBijaySingh. He was born in a very rich family and was enjoyingall typcs of comforts. However, voluntarily, forsakingthem aU, he was now lying in a pit, besmeared with hisown blood all over with three dead bodies under him, andstruggling for very life, with no dear soul around to offerhim a drink of water or consolation. Were people likeBijay Singh tempted by the prospect ofplunder to forsaketheir homes and fall into these pits? No, they werefighting for a Cause. Unfortunately however, ill-informedpeople have no appreciation of their lofty motives,because they have never cared to inform themselves ofthe true nature of this historic struggle. If anybody evennow cares to read the harrowing accounts ofthe death ofBanda Bahadur and 740 ofhis men, his hair would standon end. Those brave souls were engaged in uprooting ninecenturies old rule of injustice and tyranny and not justturning violent under the impact of narcotics. No doubtthe Sikhs by then had not stepped out ofHindustan, but,one must remember the conditions that were then prevailing in the Punjab. A ruthless invader like Ahmad Shah wassitting in immediate neighbour-hood at the head ofvirilePatha..lls and had Afganistan and Frontier Provinces underhis direct contro1. He had already plundered the Land anumber of times. Excepting Lahore, the entire area wasunder the firm control of heartless rulers all of whomwere bitterly opposed to the Sikhs. The Sikhs, on theother hand, had no land, no State, no treasury, no shelter,and no friend. The Muslims and the Hindus were bothinimical towards them, so much so that persons likeHindals from their own ranks had also turned againstthem and were colluding with their enemies. Isn't it


B/JAY SINGH "115

marvellous on the part of the Sikhs that braving suchheavy odds they yet succeeded in establishing their swayfrom Attock to Saharanpur and from Multan and· Sindto Kangra, Jammu and Bhimber, besides leading attackson Delhi, Pataudi, Dujna and even Bikaner. It must beremembered that they proved far more brave than theMarhatas because as against them, thl~ Sikhs did not haveany hill fortresses, no shelter, no established leadershiplike that of Shivaji and his successors and absolutely noresources whatsoever. As such, the SHills are the mostoutstanding people in the whole world. Surviving againstthe heaviest odds speaks volumes of the resilience oftheir character and the authenticity oftheir faith.

Any student ofhistory can see that but for the SikhsAhmed Shah Abdali would have easily succeeded in reestablishing the Pathan rule in India. The Sikhs did notallow him any respite whenever he came to invade Punjab.On his advance towards Delhi, the Sikhs always createdsuch upheavals in the Punjab that he had to return posthaste. Ultimately he got so much scared of fighting andchasing them, that he abandoned all hopes ofestablishingan alien Pathan rule in India. The supreme bravery oftheSikhs in bigger holocaust (WADA GHALLOOGHARA)had completely demoralized him. For the most daringexploits ofthe Sikhs let anyone scan through the pages oftheir accounts by some British author. The accounts ofthe Naushera battle, for example, gives an indication ofthe brave Sikh Spirit.

Let us return to our narrative after this rather longdiagression. All though the night Bijay Singh lay therebreathing heavily just as, only the upper most leaves ofthe trees stir with stingy breezses in the humid months of


116 BIJAY SINGH

Jaly and August. At day break people hastened back totheir respective villages. As chance would have it, ChuharMal's family priest, who was one ofthe Lahore informers,happened to pass that way, accompanied by sone of thesoldiers. As he passed by the pit, he heard a very lowvoice reciting 'Sri Waheguru' at which he hesitatinglypaused to see for himself. He was shocked to see BijaySingh struggling for his life. He had him killed alreadyand had even been paid for it. For a moment he could no~ .believe his eyes to find him alive. At the Begum's demandfor informer to find out Bijay Singh he had offered hisservices for such a purpose and this is how he was nowwandering through the land at State expense. He had thenthought that Bijay Singh might have escaped from prisonand as such, he could never imagine that the search forhim was not prompted by hostile intentions. He thoughtthat the Begum was trying to find him out for some severepunishment. That is why he had offered his services asa spy. At finding him alive, he wished to have him killedso that he may be rid off all fears about any possibleuntoward happening against himselfat the hands ofBijaySingh. For such a purpose he told the so~diers that theperson they have been looking for was out there and thathe should be killed immediately lest he should escape oroverpower them. They laughed away the suggestion anddid not accept his proposal because, they would be losingthe reward by killing him instead ofproducing him alive,for which they had been commissioned. As such, theydescended into the ditch, disentangled Bijay Singh's legfrom the horse and st~aighteninghis thigh tied it tightly.Offering him some water and first aid, they were able torevive him. Although the priest was in favour of killinghim, yet, finding the soldiers adament, he thought that;there was no harm in taking him alive to Lahore where


,BIJAY SINGH 117

after all he would be killed for sure and the blame wouldalso lie on the Begum. He hoped to be suitably rewarded,but, he thought to himself that in ease of some unexpected adversity he would go underground for sometime,because the conditions in Punjab were by no means stable.This is how Bijay Singh reached Lahore. The Pundit andthe soldiers received their reward, while, Bijay Singhwas taken to the Palace. The Begum could not see himbecause her own son was suffering from small-pox andshe was busy attending on him. Nevertheles, satisfactoryarrangements for the treatments ofBijay Singh were made.By now, Sheel Kaur herself had also a good say in theroyal palace.

How very strange that Bijay Singh, who, was on hislast breathes, lying all by himself in a deserted pit, shouldhave been able to reach his wife and son. They wereimmensely pleased to meet him and find him alive. Blessedindeed is the Lord and blessed are His ways! Shed Kaurthrew herselfheart and soul in the service ofher husband.Although a number ofattendants were at her beck and call,yet she preferred to serve all by herself. More than theherbs administered by the doctors, it was the devotedservice ofSheel Kaur, his wife, that helped Bijay Singh torecover in a few days. Like the tender tongue abiding inthe set of hard teeth, this Sikh family was living in theenemy palace, seemingly in comfort. God had blessedthem with a change in fortune. Distressful life in thejungles had now been replaced by royal comforts. SheelKaur was now looking gay like the mustard plant, the childwas· running about like a deer, while Bijay Singh wasblooming like a rose. However, this Sikh family refusedto grow oblivious of the dire state in which their Sikhbrothers lived. They were always planning and dreamingofjoining their brothren-in-Faith and serve the Panth.


118

CHAPTER - XVII

B/JAY SINGH

Yet another tragedy befell the Begum now. Her threeyear old only son, Amin-ud-din, the ruler of Punjab,died a very painful death, of small-pox. He was the veryembodiment ofall her hopes and as such, her entire futureseemed to be injeopardy. The death ofher husband had notdeprived her ofthe power which she was able to retain inthe name ofher son. With his death it was now all but lost, inthese hours of grief, the sagac~ous advice of Sheel Ka'Jrproved to be ofgreat help to her. At night fall, she went toseek the advice ofBijay Singh as well. She had already beenvery much impressed by his handsome bearing, becauseshe had never seen the Singhs, energetic and elegant as theyare. During her talks with him she was so much bewitchedby his sweet voice and 'Lukman' like foresight that shedeveloped a great regard for him. Bijay Singh advised herto have herself confirmed as the ruler once again, bywinniq.g the confidence ofthe courtiers. 'This would notbe difficl}lt', he said, 'becm.:se both the parties are pleasedwith your administration.' He further advised her to seek apeaceful settlementwith the Sikhs. The very nextmoming,she called the court and winning the goodwill of itsmembers assumed the reins ofpower. Trusted emissarieswere sent by her to Delhi and to Kabul, as a result ofwhichboth the Masters confinned her as the Queen ofPunjab.Within a very short time, she was able to establish herselffirmly and, in the land of the brave, the writ of a womanprevailed. However, her advisers did not favour peace withthe Sikhs who continued to be persecuted by the rovingunits ofthe army under the command ofMomin Khan. 'l'he


BIJAY SINGH 119

Sikhs decided to kill Momin Khan in order to end hismenace. Forthis purpose, Agher Singh, the nephew ofBhaiMani Singh, went to Lahore 'incognito', and, one day,finding Momin Khan sitting on the bank of the river,challenged him thus,

"0 Khan, why do you kill innocent persons. Let usfight a duel to see how brave you really are." In greatpanic Momin Khan seized his sword and shield.Although he put up a good figh1t, yet, after a closelywaged battle, Agher Singh ultimately succeeded insevering his head. Riding his very horse, he gallopedout of the Turk ranks and presente~ Momin Khan'shead at the Khalsa congregation. No body in thePunjab government now had the heart to persue theSikhs as detenninedly as Momin Khan. On the otherhand, some ofthe Begum's courtiers themselves instigated the Sikhs to create disturbances so that theybe in greater demand. Then resented her increasingarrogance after the assumption of power. Withunlimited power and millions of rupees at herdisposal, daintiest ofdishes to relish, varied sourcesof pleasure to enjoy and with grand gardens likeShalimar to stroll around, a number ofbeautiful youngmen to flirt with as well as lackeys (ill-informedadvisers) to misguide her, it was but natural for her tobecome heady "and insolent. The Begum, now, wasvery vainglorious and headstrong. Her word was law.She committed the blunder of raising the status ofBhikhari Khan for whose handsome self she haddeveloped a strong weakness. She had restrainedherself for sometime at the advice of Sheel Kaur, butthe fire in her had kept smouldering all the time.Power and pelf fanned the fire ofher lust to such an


120 BIJAY SINGH

extent that, one day, she had the Wazir summonedto her palace and, like P"0RAN's mother, madeamorous advances towards him. As a faithfulemployee ofher late husband, Bhikhari Khan pleadedwith her against her moves but to no avail. The Begumbeseached, implored, begged with folded hands, mademany tempting offers and finally even threatenedhim, but, Bhikhari Khan remained untempted. 'i'heBegum felt insulted and through her maid servantsgave him such a shoe beating that his skull crackedand he met with a very miserable end. Although thecrime was committed within the four walls of thepalace, yet the news travelled to the members ofthecourt and they, as a protest, refused to attend hercourt. They began establish:ng contacts with the Sikhsand also decided to report to Begum at the royalcourt ofDe!hi.Apart from losing favour with the public, the Begum's

relation with Sheel Kaur also got strained now, because,forsaking the comforts ofthe Suman Palace, Bijay Singhwas anxious to join his brethren in faith. For the Begum,this was like releasing a beautiful fonn framed in glass.The more the Sikh family wanted to leave, greater werethe favours showered on it. At the smallest of signs,everything was placed at their disposal including anyamount of money. The Begum even tried to anticipatetheir needs from Bijay Singh's face and would provide forthem without asking. The Begum was so much enamouredof his company that she wanted to be with him aU thetime. At times she would sit with him till late nightdiscussing affairs ofthe State. The innocent Bijay Singhwas, however, as much sick of living in the fort as anightingale is of being in a cage, be it studded withdiamonds. When all other efforts had failed, one day,


BIJAY SINGH-------~----- --121

Bijay Singh left the palace with his family, in the earlyhours of the morning. However, at the main gate, theywere stopped by the guards who refused to let them outand at once informed the Begum. She personally cameover there and pleaded with them to continue. to staythere. Bijay Singh was now in a strange predicament. Hecould neither stay there nor was being allowed to leave.Ultimately, accepting it to be the Will of God, he decidedto stay there for some days more, in the hope offinding amore effective way out.

Bijay Singh was all the time l~nde~ the impressionthat he was being detained to help sort out for politicaltangles. However Sheel Kam, who had been watching veryclosely, had serious misgivings that her husband mighthave to face the same fate as that ofBhikhari Khan. Shewas very much worried on this account because she couldneither discuss it with the Begum nor find a way out toleave the palace. At last, feeling helpless, she discussedthe matter with her husband.

On hearing this, the Singh frowned but kept silent, allthe time biting his lips in anger. Nodding his head gently,he said, 'I also had some such misgivings, although, I havebeen reluctant to ef!.tertain such evil thoughts in my mind,because, I did not think it proper to aCC-:.Ise anybody withQut some solid evidence. However, I have been everanxious to leave this place and join my brethren-in-Faith,to serve the cau:.;c of my Nation. From your words I amnow convinced about and !eal intentions of the Begum,because your observation had been very profound. But,what should I do? I have been thinking a lot about it, andyet can't find a way. There is, perhaps only one routethat is to jump over the wall of the fort from the NorthWest. Who knows by God's grace we may succeed in


122 BIJAY SINGH

getting out ofthis place?' Sheel Kat:r approved ofthe planbut advised him to work the de~ai1s in this respect. BijaySingh said, 'I do have a plan which, I hope, may bear fruit.I will, first ofaI, suspend yoe dow:l, ir.. tum, with the helpof a rope or a lengtl: of cloth. Down there, at a littledistance away, there is a Pipal tree, scaling which youwould .Eirmly tie tne end ofthe rope with the highest of itsbranches so that holding the other end ofthe rope, I maybe able to suspend rr..yself down.'

The husband and wife agreed upon this plan. Withthe fall of night, Bijay Singh waited for the opportunemoment which was not easy to come by. Next night too,he could not avoid the guards. On the third day, theydecided to make a bid early in the first half of the night,because the guards took their positions a little later. Tyingthe end ofthe cloth around her waist, Sheel Kaur climbedup the waH, first, and Bijay Singh, holding the other end,stood in readiness for his turn. As Sheel Kaur was tryingto climb down the other s~de someone caught hold ofherarm and said,' My dear sister, is it proper on your part toleave me like this and go away?' All the three of themwere taken aback and their plan was frustrated. Feelingrather small they came back to their place.

Begum: Why are you silent? Please do speak outyour mind. I am not offended by you. I am aware that youwere very keen to go away from me, but I, on my part, haveever looked upto you for support. Truly has it been saidthat friend feU off in adversity.

Sheel Kaur: You may be right, but, It is not we whoare trying to avoid you: on the other hand it is rather youwho are forcing us to find clandestine means to depart.

Begum: How, after all?


BIJAY SINGH 123

Sheel Kaur: My husband would. let you know about it.Begum: Why Sir? (With a deep sigh) Have you ever

heard anybody forsaking one's own life?Bijay Singh: It may be true, and yet, there are many

who do consume opium, a poison.Begum: Persons in theirsenses do notdo so; frustrated

alone do likewise.Bijay Singh: Although youpretendto seek our advice,

yet, you have never cared to follow it. For example, wehave ever wished you to keep good company, do gooddeeds, keep good relations with the ministers and theomerahs, but, you have always ignored it. The results arebound to be bad because ofthis attitude, on your part andso all the advice you seek from us is meaningless.

Begum: 0 No! Henceforth, I promise to do as yousay. I do hope now you have no more reasons to go.

Bijay Singh: There are other reasons as well. We donot wish to live here like prisoners. We are very keen tojoin our DAL (group), although we promise to keep onmeeting you and offering you any piece ofadvice that youmay stand in the need of, on the condition that you mendyour relations with the Sikhs.

Begum: When I cannot even afford to keep you awayfrom my eyes, how can I allow you to join your DAL(Group)? Ascetics are not known to ever stick to a place.I very much wish you to abdicate the thought ofreturningto the fold of the Sikhs for living with them. You mustlive with me for ever. That would. enable you to rise tothe highest ofposition and your writ would then prevaileverywhere because I would not issue any orders. However, it is possible only ifyou accept Islam, because I amat the mercy ofDurrani and Delhi both.


124 BIJAY SINGH

3ijay Singh: How very fun::ly on your part to ask usaccept Islam, when youyoursel:!:'have never offeredNlMAZ(Muslim Prayer) or kept fasts. If that is an indication ofyour mind, then we will have to stake our very lives to getout ofthis place.

Begum: I am reaEy sorry. It was only a casual remarkat which you need not take offence. In future =promisenot to say anything which may not be to your liking.

Bijay Singh: Very we!!.Begum: But, you also should make a promise to the

effect that you will not go away from this place.Bijay Singh: I g:ve you my word that as long as you

stick to your promise, I wi~l do the same. However, as andwhen yo~ break your prorr..ise, then, I shall deem myselffreed from my pledge.

Begum: Alright. You need have no misgivings. : shallsee to it that every comfort is made available to you. Atthe slighest harm to you, my very heart tends to breakdown. I have no-body to :!:'all back upon except yo~. Iwas very unhappy at you~ bid to escape, but, ~ am nowreassured.

Now she greeted Steel Kaur very warmly, huggedher son to her bosom and placing her hand on BijaySingh's shoulder rose to go away for her dinner.

Sheel Kaur and Bijay Singh were very muchperplexedat their strange situation. However, soon enough theycomposed themselves and laughed away the seriousnesshoping for the best. Sheel Kau~ did remark to her husbandthat his promise might entangle them still further.

Bijay Singh: We are already very much entangled,and there seems to be now way out. The Begum is now


BIJAY SINGH 125

sure to reinforce the guard on us. As far as my promise isconcerned, I intend to abide by it, but, she is not likely tohonour her solemn word, because she has lost all sense ofpropriety under the influence of power. We should nowbe prepared for the worst, because people sometimeshave to suffer grievously for a good cause. Those aloneare sublime beings who withstand troubles of this sortwith courage and conviction.


126

CHAPTER - XVIII

BIJAY SINGH

One day, at about four in the morning in the backyardgarden ofthe palace, Bijay Singh was engaged in praye:sand meditations. The beams of the late night Moon,looking like a grey beard on the face of the Earth, lentthis time a chaste grace, and the star~studded night addedfurther to its calm beauty. The soothing cool of theatmosphere was as refreshing and pure as dew drops onrose petals.

Por the Begum, however, it had been a very sleeplessnight. Like a fish out ofwater, she had been feeling veryrestless. Sometimes s~e would go upstairs and ther.. comedown, again she would sit on the balcony and then retireto the room. Just as a man engrossed in meditation isunawar~~ ofthe refreshing atmosphere arou~d, similarly,the beauty of the night could not cheer up the Begum.Suddenly she would start weeping, then would begin tolaugh. At times she would be in her spirits and then all ofasudden, would be as helpless as ever. For quite sometimeshe was lost in a soliloquy like this:

"0 my heart, you must behave now. It is because ofyou that I had to face a lot of em~arrasment onaccount ofBhikhari Khan's episode. A woman is afterall a woman, may she be the mistress of hundredsof dominions yet the slightest suspicion about herconduct, loosens her hold on the people. Don't youknow the fate ofpoor Razia Begum? Just see, what amean pleasure I am hankering after? Although r amthe mistress ofthe whole of the Punjab yet, my ownheart is not in my control. Alas! my evil deeds are


BIJAY SINGH 127

bound to be recorded in the pages ofthe history andeven after thousands ofyears when even my bonesshall have become dust in my grave, the evilattributed to me on account ofBhikhari Khan's affairshall not be forgotton. Whenever and wherever therewill be a mention ofmy name, his name shall also bereferred to. Now a helpless Sikh is caught in my net.He is a prisoner, absolutely irmocent and totally atmy mercy. He does not have much name to lose. Theworld has double standards an.d a man is not takenso much to task as a woman is, ifhe displays lust orbecomes adulterous. That is why women are advisedto be very discreet and upright about their honour andchastity. A woman must exercise greater selfcontrol as far as any emotionall display is concerned.But this is easier said than don<~. Besides, who knowswhat future holds for us? If I have to meet my endsoon, what do I ~are about the kingdom. I feel so verylonely Let me go to Bijay Singh and have a wordwith him. He is too innocent to be aware of suchfeelings. How very virtuous, wise and devoted hereally is. He is a real beauty. How can I bear to bedeprived ofthe joy ofunion with him."Tossed between these such thoughts the Begum was

trying to pass the interminable night. At last unable tocontrol her passions, she went to Shee1 Kaur's quarterswhere through a slit in the door, she saw her sitting withher son. Finding Bijay Singh not there, she came back tosit on the balcony. Looking down into the garden shesaw someone with a handsome face sitting on the marbleslab. She reached there to find Bijay Singh engrossedin prayers. She calmed down, her evil thoughts vanishedand she bowed before him. Bijay Singh opened his eyesand said, 'Please do not bow your head and be seated.'


128 BIJAY SINGH

Begum:You must be very much surprised to find me here atthis hour. Just as your love for God has not allowedyou to sleep, similarly, my love for you has notallowed me to take any rest. You must listen to mysupplication. I am deeply in love with you; I havetried my best to eradicate this thought from my mindbut to no avail. Therefore, I earnestly beseech you totake me in marriage. If you accept Islam, well andgood, otherwise let us solemnize our marriage insecret.Bijay Singh: 0 Mother of thy subjects, let good

sense be your guide. You know very well that I am alreadymarried and you too owe it to your subjects to safeguardtheir life by properly administering the vast domains ofwhich you are the ruler.

Begum: I have committed no sin by suggesting amarriage which is a sacred relationship.

Bijay Singh: There isno doubt that marriage is a verysacred relationship whichtwo unmarried persons solemnlyenter into in order to share each other's woes and wealsduring their sojour in this world. As far as I am concernedI am already married. Apart from this, you must also takeinto consideration the fact that by marrying me you willnot be able to save your kingdom. Also I shaH never acceptIslam come what may. What is the use of chasing thiswill-O' -thewisp? Ifyou care to accept my advice, you mGsttry to imbibe the teachings ofQuran or I can relate to youthe sayings ofthe Holy Gurus. This will help you regainyour equilibrium;

Begum: I am not much worried about my royal state.You must try to understand my feelings which have theirorigin in the very depths ofmy heart. Have you everknown


BIJAY SINGH 129

a woman begging for marriage? This is an indication ofmydeep love for you. And there is no reason for me to feelashamed ofthis pious feeling.

Bijay Singh: You have solemnly adopted Sheel Kauras your sister. Are you true to your faith? May God helpyou, 0 Queen, to take care ofyour kingdom.

Begum: I have thought over everything. No hann cancome to my rule, because I know how to keep the countryunder my thumb. You should not refuse my request onsuch pretexts.

Bijay Singh: I cannot enter into such a relationshipbecause I am a Singh.

Begum: I offer myself to be your wife, your own. Iam not seeking any extra-marital relations. Why do youthink otherwise? I a~n seeking marriage with you which issacred. I just want it to be kept a secret.

Bijay Singh: I have a wife already, whom I havesolemnly wed.

Begum: We the Muslims are allowed to have evenfour consorts.

Bijay Singh: I do not think it is good to have more thanone. Ifyou really love me and love me honestly, then adoptme as your son and love me as such. I promise to serve youas a son then. Love can be fulfilled even in this form.

Begum: I won't like to be put offby such excuses. Ihave thought over everything inside out and I cannot takeany ofthis agony any more.

Saying this, the Begum's eyes turned red and shebegan to tremble all over. Taking hold ofBijay Singh'shand she pressed it hard and tried to say something, butthe words got stuck in her throat. Bijay Singh tried to


130 B1JAY SINGH

disengage his hand but could not do so. For a while hekept sitting with his eyes closed. Then, with a strongjerk,he pulled back his hand and left the place. Meanwhile thesun had also risen, and its rays faHing on the face of theQueen, grown pale at the cooling down ofher emotions,gave it a horrid expression. Her maid servants, who hadbeen looking for her, not finding her in her apartment,soon arrived there and took her back into the palace.Laying her down on the bed, they revived her spirits bysprinkling rose water on her. Thereafter, she was given amessage with sandal oil and then a cold bath. Just as aftera stonn and rain, a strong waft ofwind continues to blowintermittantly, similarly, the Begum also continued toheave sighs at some intervals. She did not even attendthe court, where she used to address the courtiers sittingbehind a veiL The inmates of the palace had beeninfonned that the Begum was suffering from headache, atwhich a number of Hakims (doctors) were summoned,who however, could not diagnose her trouble. As the dayadvanced, the Begum was able to sleep and thus the lustfulpassions being roasted in her inflamed heart like thegrains in a sand cauldron calmed down somewhat. Whenshe awoke in the evening she was feeling as weak as ifshehad recovered from a long ailment.


BIJAY SINGH

CHAPTER - XIX

131

The Begum, now, was in a very miserable state. Shecould neither sleep well nor laugh nor eat. Stung by herpride, she, at times, was inclined to award retributivepunishmentas she had done to Bhikhari Khan, but, becauseoffeeling oflove for Bijay Singh and the fear ofnotoriety,......she desisted from doing so in his case. The murder ofBhikhari Khan had already broughther avery badname. Assuch, she was trying to weave a different scheme, toachieve her aim. Following this plan, she had Sheel Kaurimprisoned in a separate cell alongwith her son.

This cell was under a round-the-clock vigil. Earlyone morning, a maid servant entered Sheel Kaur's room,holding two beautiful bowls in her hands. Placing thembefore Sheel Kaur, she said, 'I have brought these for bothofyou to drink.'

Sheel Kaur: What do they contain?

Maid servant: Although 1 am under orders not toreveal, yet, I am so much oblighed to you that I am in amoral dilemma. If! tell you, I am sure to be indicted, but,if! don't, 1will be guilty of ingratitude. However, I musttell you, because this is something which cannot beconcealed for long. Dear Madam, this is poison which hasbeen sent by your husband.

Sheel Kaur: This can never be. Had it been Sfilt by myhusband, I would have counted it as a blessing. But mydear husband can never do so, because he is a true Sikhand true Sikhs are always true to their wives. Ivfy husbandand myself are joined in a spiritual wedlock.


132 BIJAY SINGH

Maid: (Startled) Good Lady, how well do you knowyour husband. Now I will not be able to keep back anything from you. Your husband -has so far refusec tooblige the Begum, inspite of the fact that the temptationof all the comforts ofthe world has been held out to him.Eversince he has been separated f:om you, he is everbeing attended upon by a number ofbeautiful maids whoare trying to bring him round. However, he continues tobe adamant and dismisses them as casually as an elephantdispenses flies. Yesterday, I overheard him telling theBegum that as she had gone back on her promise, hewould leave the place. The Begum, however, was trying toconvince him that his wife had been taken away by hisfather, Chuhar Mal. But he refused to believe.

Sheel Kaur: Let God's will preva~l. I am already asacrifice unto my husband. May he never come to anyharm; may SATGURU protect him ever.

Maid: Blessed are you, blessed is your religion andblessed is your fidelity towards your husband. Why can'tthis fool, o~r Beg:llll understand the stuff you are madeof?

Son: What, ifwe refuse to drink?Maid: You will be then put to death; the Begum has

already decided so.Sheel Kaur: Alright then. (Addressing her son), 'Dear

son; die we P.1Ust O!1e day. It is impossible to get out ofthis fort alive, a!ongwith your [ather. However, it is notdifficult for your father to get out of here ali by himself.He can easily scale the wall ofthe fort as we tried that day.But, he is feeling handicapped because of us. Myselfbeing a woman and_ you being as yet just a child find itdifficult to match hiln: in physical effort to do so. Yourfather now is under very strong pressure to renounce his


BIJAY SINGH 133

religion which, however, he will never do. Left to himself,he will be able to save not only his Faith but also his life. Iam very much worried that he may not lose his Efe on ouraccount. That is why I think that it is better for me to dieso that he is able to save himself. As for you, I would havevery much wished you to stay alive, but, my dear, in viewofthe prevailing circumstances it would be better for youto accompany me. After my death they will never allowyou to meet your father and will subject you to varioustypes oftemptations and threats to which, God forbid, ifyou happen to fall, then the whole Nation of the Khalsashall have cause to curse me for giving birth to such anaccursed child. Although I am fully convinced that withpure Khalsa blood running in your veins, you will be ableto withstand all pressure, yet your tender age sometimesgives me reason to feel worried. Therefore, my very dearson, let us go to the holy feet of the Lord. We have hadenough ofthe world; it is like an onion's skin which is notworth anything.

Mother's advice had a very telling effect on the mindof the child. Sitting close by, the maid kept staring atthem, and the mother and the son drank the bowls ofpoison at a drought. Touching the f(~et ofthe maid, SheelKaur begged of her to inform her husband about theirdeath so that he might save his life by escaping from thisplace. The bewildered maid touched their feet and thenleft the place. The mother and her son engaged themselves in prayers.

Soon thereafter, the Begum reached there. Offeringher a straw mat, Sheel Kaur said to her, 'Sister, I havenothing else to offer, please be seated.'

Begum: Sheel Kaur you are really great. When Iheard that your husband had given poison to you, I wasstunned and t~at is why I have come here post-haste to


134 BIJAY SINGH

find out the cause ofthis faithless:less. As a matter of factit is just now that 1 learnt about your imprisonment. AUthe time Bijay Singh had been trying to mislead me bysaying that you had gone to the town. Being a simpleton Icould never imagine the real cause. It is only to-day that Ihave come to know that he has fallen for a maid servantand for her sake he has tried to kill you. But, you needhave no fears, I have sent for the doctor (Hakim), who :ssure to cure you by administering an antidose. Pretendingto weep, she said, 'Dear sister please do not have anyworry. I shall not allow any harm to come to you.'

Shee1 Kaur: Dear sister, there is no need for anydoctor now. I very well know that I have not been poisonedby my husband. This must be the result of some evildoings on my part. It is the Will of God which I mustgladly accept. I adopted you as a sister and I have evertried to uphold this pledge. I seek to be excused for anyfault on my part.

Begum: Dear sister, you have left me alone. (Withfalse tears) You have been my on~y support, I don't knowwhat shall I do after you are gone. You have been mymother, my sister, my only support and my compa.qionthrough thick and thin. (Pleading with j oined hands), 'Letme try to make a bid for your treatment.'

Sheel Kaur: Dear sister, go and relax. 1 am in greatdistress and my life may end any moment. You may find itdifficult to see it. As such, you must go away. I assure youthat I have no complaint against you. Even if you wereat fault, I would readily excuse you. Please go now. Takepity on my husband and set him free. This is my lastrequest to you.

Just at this moment, a tutored maid-servant ca~erunning and seemingly in great panic said, 'Your Majes~,something terrible has happened.' Hearing this the Begun:


BIJAY SINGH._--------~--------._-- 135

left, pretending to be very E1Uch disturbed. Almostimmediately the~eafter, Sheel Kamo and her son startedvomitting so heavily that they seemed to be pouring outtheir very soul. In the process most of the poisonousmatter got drained out of their bodies. However, weakness and loss of consciousness reduced both of them tothe point ofdeath. Throughout the day they lay in that verycondition and at nightfall the Begum ordered that thebodies should be thrown i:lto the river. However, whenthe persons who had gone out to throwaway the bodies,heard some voices at a distance, they thought that a partyofthe Sikhs was advancing towards them. They threw thebodies at a deserted place outside the fort and ran away.According to the Begu~n tlley tad already died and thepersons who had gone to throw them away had a~so thoughtlikewise. Thus, those who used !o s~eep on velvet andcosy beds were now lying on the hard bare craggy earth,away from their kith and ~in, like some dead wild animals.The stars in the sky shed their tender :ight on these sacredsouls in the hope that this might revive life in them. Thegentle breeze grazed against their bodies like the bow ofaSARANGI in the hope tha~ under its impact the strings oflife in them n:ay give forth a melody of life. AlthoughNature herselfwas sympathizing with these saintly souls,yet no human being was wilEng to be compassionatetowards them-their fault ::,eing their deep love forreligion who had Iallen a victim at the ahar of faith.

Inside the fort another play was being enacted at thebehest of the fate. In a decorated room, Bijay Singh saton a bed woven with peacock feathers, surrounded bybeautiful maids. He looked like a gem among pebbles.These maids were Begum's closest campanions and they


136 a/JAY SINGH

were trying to persuade Bijay Singh accede to the requests ofthe Begum. However, their persuations have asmuch effect on Bijay Singh, as water on the oiled body ofa horse. Cmr.pletely frustrated in their attempt, the maidsleft him at about midnight. Immediately thereafter, theBegum herself came over there and began to plead withBijay Singh like this:

"Singhji, please be a little more considerate. If youaccept Islam, I shall make you the ruler ofthe wholeof Punjab, because it ~s very easy for me to do so.You should -ta~e pity on yourself, lest your beautyshould wither away like that ofa wild flower. God hasblessed you with unst:rpassed beauty. I think t!:latright from the beginning of creation, God has beer.putting aside a part ofbeauty from each ofHis lovelycreatures and assembling those parts. He has nowcreated a person Bijay Singh by name, whom He hassent into this wodd. 0 stone-hearted prince, why areyou bent upon destroying that ~eauty? AIld why don'tyou speak?"Bijay Singh: 0 Queen mother, Like a deer you are

following a mirage to satiate your thirst; as such, you arebound to die in sandy deserts. What you seek comfortfrom is the source ofall woes and worries. You may findit difficult to dissuade your heart, but, in that alone liesyour welfare. If, o_n the other hand, you allow yourselftofollow the dictates ofyour heart, you are bound to come

• +"to gnel.."Pain may befall him, who ever seeks the peaceLet me not therefore seek such a Peace"Ifwe sow seeds ofpoppy, they sprout into beautiful

plants with beautiful flowers. But alas! aU these end up into


BIJAY SINGH 137-----~-- -

countless seeds of poison which ultimately permeatesinto all of its parts-roots, leaves, branches and flowers.Besides, it does not happen only once; everytime theprocess is repea~ed it, splits poison multifold and sobecomes a perennial sOUrce ofpoisonous stream.

Evil thoughts may appear to be very charming but totry to put them into practice is like consuming the poisonofa sr.ake. The Cloth is taken in by the beauty ofthe lamp;as long as it keeps itself at a distance, it is safe, but, if itdraws near, under the inflJence of lust, it gets burnt, fallsdown and dies in anguish. Beware, 0 Queen, the lust hasconsumed many saints and savants, sages and ?rophets,Kings lost their kingdoms, ascetics their honour and thespirituals their souls tempted by lust. As a queen, youshould stand firmly on your feet and learn a lesson fromBhikhair Khan's episode.

Begum: 0 you stone-hearted fellow, don't try tosermonize like a Sheikh. Such opportunities do not comeagain and again; ifwe allow them to go unavailed for fearofreligion, we will have to repent.

Bijay Singh: 0 Quee~mother, time moves on, whetherwe spend it in vice or in virtl:e. But it leaves behind,the trail ofthe pleasure ofvirtuous deeds or the misery ofthe evil acts. The chariot ofTime has two wheels, ofViceand Virtue, which leave behind two tracks of repentanceand reward. Although I am not well versed in Muslimcode, but whatever I know of the Hindu traditions, theirwidows pass the rest of their lives in chastity and henceare respected like grandmothers. However, those ofthemwho fall for lust and following their hearts' desires, throwall discretion to winds are derided and discarded. 'l'heyrepent bitterly when the evil person, whom they hadmistakenly taken for their sympathizer, fails to stand by


138----- BIJAY SINGH

them. What else can one expect when one fails to heedthe advice of the eld~rs and mistakes akk (a poisonousplant) for a mango.

Begum: (somewhat irritated) Singhji, it is all too easyto sennonzie. T!:le~e is nothing bad in my suggestion. Doesyour religion forbids man'iage and widow's remarriage?

Bijay Singh: They are allowed in Sikhism, providedthey conform to our religiocs code. As for me, I amalready married.

Begum: But your wife is already dead. (With pretentedtears) Dear Sheel has passed away.

Bijay Singh: It is impossible.Begum: Believe me, it is a fact. Your father, Chuhar

Mal, took her away against my advice, some days ago. Ihad to agree only when he told me that her mother-in-lawwas weeping all the time to see her. However, I have nowbeen informed that your wife and son have been crushedby the roof that fell over their heads and that they havealready been cremated by your brother. ! am reliably informed that in fact your brother killed them deliberatelywith a view to eliminate the co-inheritors ofthe ancestralproperty.

Bijay Singh: I refuse to believe it.Begum: I affirm most solemnly that is a fact. I have

already ordered the arrest ofyour brother.At the thought of the loss of his dearest souls, Bijay

Singh was in great anguish and shut his eyes. However,when he saw the vision ofthe holy Guru, he was convincedof the immorality of the soul. With a firm faith in theinexorable law ofKarma, and the benevolence ofGod, hecalmed down with inner solace. After about ten minutes


BIJAY SINGH 139

when he opened his eyes, two drops oftears fell from themand thrice from his mouth he uttered the word, 'Blessed,blessed, blessed.' Although Bijay Singh did not believe inthe queen's version, yet he had some misgivings that sheherselfmight have had them killed in order to remove hisobjections to remarriage. However, he took it as the WillofGod.

Begum: What do you say now?Bijay Singh: What should I say? I was not born to

marry a rich woman and live in comfort. My life is dedicated to the cause of righteousness and the service ofthepeople. For me, beautiful beds are like seats of thorns,while to sleep on thorns alongwith my bre:hren-in-faith is!ike lying on a bed made ofvelvet. "With them I would beglad to live on the leaves ofthe jungle. In them lies virtue,while in these cosy beds lies evil. Soul is immortal whilebody is perishable. Why should I lament the loss of aperishable thing? I would rather look forward to the immortal bliss ofspiritual salvation, being eternal. Besides, apersons who is born for a Mission must dedicate himselftoit, otherwise, he is ridiculed like this',

"Beware, thou, 0 Man,In thy life-span,Must thou earn the bliss,Oflove Divine and kiss,But, in evil art thou lost, And headlong go thou fast,To thy sad plight,And life is past mid-night."Begum: Never in my life have I bowed before anybody

and no body has ever dared to defy my orders. It is onlyto you that I now bow. You must appreciate my humilityand accept my proposal. We will keep our marriage asecret for sometime, till I have a proclamation issuedfrom Kabul. No body would dare cast an evil eye on you.


140 a/JAY SJNGH

Thus yoa can be the ki::lg for a mere asking and eve::l fuifilyour commitele:1t with the Sikhs. Joir..ie.g the Sikhs nowwould spell your ruination because their rule, for thepresent, is a far cry. A ~uthless and de:ermind ruler mayeven exterminate the:r root and brallch. You are, thereforeadvised to avail yourself oftl:is rare opportuP..ity to sit onthe th~onewitllout having to shed even a drop blood.

Bijay Singh: 0 Queen mother, I am grateful ~o youfor your offer of a kingdoe.1 but, I belong to a Nationwhich has f:.Ill :aith in the stree.gth of its anns. The Sik.~s

would never agree to acquire rule in such a d~bious way.Power we s~all gain, but, only by the s~arp edge of ourown swo~d. Moreover, A~dali is no~ as great a fool as yoathink him to be. The moment you n~arry me, a Sikh, youwill be condemned as an infidel and then det:U-oe.ec.Abdali may take sometime in coming, bat your ownOmerahs would rise to :5nish you, because no Muslimwill stand yoer lTIalTiage to a non-rr..usli!r. However, if Iaccept Islam, then, but that is absolutely out of question.I can reli!lqdsh the royal ~itle over fourteep.. Universes forthe sake of Sikhism. And, I am convinced tl:at by youraccepting Sikhism, a Sik~ rc~e cannot be establisl:edeither. Moreover, the ~ulers of DeIhl, howsoeverweakened, are still b a positior. to deal with the Punjab.Ghazi-ud-dinl:as ~is eye 0:1 your daughter. He will insiston marriage alliaece wit,~ her to keep you ue.der his tham9.Therefore, it is e.ot wise to entertain such wild dreams asyou seem prone to.

Begum: Has a hungry man ever reD.lsed an offer offood? Why don't you aSl< the Sikhs?

Bijay Singh: The brave ar..d hon~mra~le Sikhs alwayscondemn servility and crookedness. They will do all thatis right and proper after they assume power. But for the


BIJAY SINGH 141

present, they are devoted to the cause of their religionwith courage and conviction. As you know, they had scornfuny declined the offer of feudatory Lordship (Nawabi).On insistence, however, they had pointed towards a Sikhengaged in fanning his co-religionists, saying "let it begiven to him". Don't you know that on the arrival ofAbdali, the Sikhs have many a time forsal<.en their holdover certain areas temporarily, like the snake shedding itsskin, but, they have never greeted him with rich offeringsto hold on to these areas as his vassals, because, for themit will be a stigma 0!1 their dignity and bravery. However,they have never a!lowed any respite to Abdali. On hisadvance towards Delhi, they create such havoc in Punjabthat he is obliged to beat a retreat, during which they againretire beyond his reach. On his return march towardsKabul, he is constantly harrassed by them. At Kabul he isall the more disturbed to learn about their achievementsin Punjab. The Sikhs have not allowed Abdali to re-establish Afghan rule in India. These highly enlightenedand proud people, therefore, would never agree to yoursuggestion. As such, I am obliged to refuse all youroffers. I am a free bird, and instead of feeding on richstones in a golden cage, I would prefer to live on pebblesin free air. This is final.

One marvels at the way "3ijay Singh stuck to hisvalues and his love for freedom. Even in the face ofthe most tempting offers, he remained firm in his resolveand pious in his thoughts. Never did he waiver nor evercompromise his noble thinking. In sharp contrast, thepeople, today, forsake their religion and moral values fora beautiful face, or a fair complexioned girl, to the greatmisery oftheir own wives. Like hungry kids, they hankerafter fair skinned women. The more affluent Sardars are


___ B/JAY SINGH

after :air skinned women. The more aff:l:ent Sardars aresquandering !hei~ riches in evil deeds at houses of illrep~te a~d are gradl:ally being reduced fro~ Sardars toSerfs. That is why the nun:ber of cOlilparative!y rich~r

Sardars is declining every day. With t~e passing away ofthe older generation, the younger is fa:':ir..g a prey to themundane values. Most of:ardlies are leading a miseableexistence, because of lack 0: love between the !msbandand the wife. T~ey are always clashing with each ot~er

like the r:ver stor-es. The off-springs of quarrelsomecouples never respect the:r parents. God created homesto be heavens, but !~e way-war~s have tl:rr.ed them into so

. many hells. Just as a cha5te wife is the ligh: ofthe family,similar:y, a faithful husband is i:s lamp. If both of themare honest ir.. 6eir mut:ml obligat:ons, they add not onlytotheirowr..happir..ess, out also to that ofthe entire family.As such, they qm exercise a very healthy influence ontheir children. Rational th:nking alone differentiates aman from an ar..imal. 'Abdica:ing righteous thoughts is toabdicate humar..ity.

Kh~lsa 3i, always try to draw inspiration from theupright lives of your elders and foliow them in theirhonest ways. A ~oral and ethical life alone ensures yourhappiness, in this world as well as in the next. You shouldalways keep in 111ind the !loly words of the holy Guru inwhich He exalts marital fideEty thus:

As is the companionship ofavenomous serpent, so is ~he

ravishir..g ofanother's wife.


B/JAY SINGH

CHAPTER -.xx-

143

The moonless night, like a widow, barren and beaten,had spread over itself a blue sheet ofmodesty. The darkness ofunfulfilled desires was pervading all around. Justas with the fall ofa plate full offried rice from the hand ofa child, rice grains get scattered, similarly the stars werescattered all over the sky. The birds and the animals weresitting silently, as if in awe. The trees with down-castbranches appeared to be standing in great distress. Night'sfriend, Nature, was so much overwhelmed by her mate'splight that she had completely identified herselfwith her.

With the storm building the sky became cloudy. Theanguished cries of the blowing storm were soon accompanied by the tears like drizzle ofthe clouds. The thunderof the clouds sounded like the beating of breast and thewhole world seemed to be trembling under its impact.The broken branches of the trees were flying all around.'0 ye tormented night, your very heart seems to have·burst open baring the wounds of thy heart, in a mannerwhich has put even the moonlight to shame.' Yes, withthe thunder oflightning, the very heart ofthe night seemed to have been ripped apart. But, '0 ye dark night, themother ofevil, all the foul acts are committed under yourcover. WhY.c:lo you torment the poor people? Now, youmust bear the trouble all by yourself. You are now beatingyour breast in great anguish, but have you ever sympathizedwith those innocent people who are robbed by thievesaided and abetted by you. You are the main support ofthedacoits. To the murderer also you lend your help; as helifts his sword with his right hand, you stand by him alike


144 BIJAY SINGH

his left hand. Many an innocent woman molested at thehands ofthe evil seekers under the cover ofyour darknesswhich has widowed and orphaned many. Have you realizedtoday how painful it is to be thus tomiented? You are darklike the black shawl of a tyrant. Good company evenseems to have had no effect on you. Your husband, theMoon, has ~ried to help you for quite a length of time,shedding its light all around, but, still you remain as darkas ever. Afraid of your husband, you grow white in hispresence, but hiding in caves, comers, trees and otherobscure places, you are always biding for an opportunityto come out immediately after his departure. Had youbeen good, you would have shed your darkness in thecompany of the Moon. But, you are as dark as ever.Perhaps it is because ofyour evil company that the Moonhas developed some dark spots on its face' .

To~night, Bijla Singh had been strolling near theLahore fort after which he headed towards the jungle.Enroute, his feet fell upon a very delicate thigg and he gotstartled. With a flash in the clouds, he saw a Sikh childand a Sikh woman, who, later on were found to belong toa Sikh Family. With great care, Bhai ji, lifted the child,and took him into a mud hut a little distance away. Thereafter, he came with two more men who carried away theSikh woman as well. At this place, to-day, stands a beautiful Gurdwara, Debra Sahib by name, in the memory ofSriGuru Arjan Dev Ii. In those days at this place, there usedto be an improvised hut with a boundary wall. As it didnot attract much attention then, a blind Sikh used to livethere, and he was of great help to the Sikh spies. Onentering the room, Bijla Singh saw two Singhs who hadcome incognito to find out Bijay Singh. Both of them


BIJAY SINGH '145

recognized the woman and the child to be the wife andson of Bijay Singh. Taking off their wet clothes, theywere wrapped in dry sheets. They were then warmed upwith fire and some medicine was administered to them torevive them.

After a night long vigil, they helped the two extremelyweak souls to regain some life. Very soon thereafter, theywere well on their way to full recovery. Fortunately, theprevious night's rain had helped them a lot, because itdiminished the effect ofthe opium which was one oftheingredients of the poison given to them. The vomittingimmediately after the consumption ofpoison had provedvery useful, becuase it had drained outrnuch ofthe poison.However, the opium part ofit left its baneful effect in theform ofintoxication which the rain helped to break. Truelyhas it been said:

"He, whom God saves, cannot be destroyed."On the second and the third day, they remained

confined to bed, after which Shed Kaur was in a positionto narrate the tortures through which she and her husbandhad to pass. Now, all of them decided to join KaroraSingh's Jatha (band) for a bid to free Bijay Singh. And soone day they left the place in disguise at about dusk.

The Sikhs at that time were not under as muchpressure as they used to be in the days of Mir Mannu.Because ofthe infights in which the Begum was engagedthe Sikhs had become active throughout the land. Most ofthe courtiers had turned against the Begum and werereporting against her to Delhi to the effect she wasruining the country. Taking advantage ofthe divided house,the Sikhs were gaining ground.

All the advice that Bijay Singh could offer feU ondeaf ears. The more he tried to hold on to his Faith and


146 B/JAY SINGH

moral conduct, the deeper was the Begum lost in her lovefor him. She was convinced that he was a unique being ashe had remained steadfast despite the great onslaughts oflove launched against him. Howsoever, well read a personmay be, it is very difficult to withstand the advancers oflove and temptation. But the brave sons of Guru GobindSingh; who have enshrined the Lord of aigrette(Kalgianwala) in their heart, do not submit to any enemy.This is a great truth that the Sikhs do not even seek anyquarter from any enemy. They prefer to die fighting ratherthan accept the ignominy of defeat. In this struggle too,Bijay Singh did not fall and no effort on the part of theBegum was of any avail. She resorted to witchcraft aswell. Secretly one day a faquir sat in meditation before afire. Still another advised the Begum to sit for four hoursbefore a statue ofBijay Singh, reciting a particular 'KaIma'(words), but all these effort were in vain. After a few days,one night the Begum fell down or her knees and graspingthe feet ofBijay Singh wept most copiously. Bijay Singhwas somewhat touched and remembers an exhortationfrom Sri Guru Granth Sahib:

"Ifthou desirest thy Beloved, then hurt thou not anyone's heart." (Farid)

He thought that he had injured her heart a lot and forthis he was afraid, he may be held accountable to God.Lest he may be sinning in the name of escaping anothersin, he asked the Begum "What, after all, do you seekfrom me?"

Begum:You know it so well my dear that I want youto marry me. .

Bijay Singh: This is impossible.Begum: (Drawing out a dagger) Well, then I will end

my life. It is better to sacrifice myself at the altar ofyour


BIJAY SINGH 147

love. At this she tried to dig the dagger into her stomach.Bijay Singh, however, moved quickly and snatched thedagger before it could touch the stomach and pleadedwith her not to make him accountable before God for thissinful act on her part. He further told her that if she wasreally that desperate then he would take the agony ofjoining her in a wedlock. As she left elated, Bijay Singhhad a dreadful vision in which he saw, an angry and stoutNihang Singh with his sword drawn and saying, "0 youSingh, what is this promise about? Shall I cut you apart intwo?" As the Nihang Singh waved his sword, Bijay Singhcame back to his senses and looked around, but there wasnot even a trace either of the Begum or of the NihangSingh. He got afraid and despite the candle light, saw thecircles of darkness advance and then recede in tum. Ingreat panic he looked around, but could not make outanything. His forehead was very hot and so was his entirebody. He came onto the balcony. The cool air refreshedhim and helped him ,compose himself. Bijay Singh wasimmensely relieved to realize that it was just a walkingdream. Bijay Singh was extremely annoyed with himself,at having agreed to marry another woman even in a dream.He felt that his heart, whichhad ever stood byhim, had nowturned against him, though in a dream only. "When mybosom friend has turned against me, who can I now tum tofor support? Everybody around me has been conspiring toforce me to forego my morality and chastity and myheart, alone has stood by me like a true friend. Although,it is only in a dream that it has betrayed me, yet, after all, ithas forsaken me. I am afraid that it may betray me evenwhen I am fully awake. Sri Guru Granth Sahib enjoins thateven in dream one ought to meditate on the Name ofGod;yea, even in dream one must be vigilant." Bijay Singh


148 BIJAY SINGH

firmly resolved to keep a tight rein on his heart. His eyes,which had never shed tears, were, for the first time,moistened.

Khalsaji,just mark the high moral character ofyo:Irelders, who loathed to talk to another woman even in adream. This was the real secret of Sikh strength. It isbecause we have drifted away from this high ideal that weare now coming to griefin all walks of life.

Chastity and high moral character, beside ensuring asound and healthy body, give birth to healthy children, wite.pristine pure souls. Whosoever. cares to imbibe suchqualities is ever prosperous, while others always come to asad end. Bhartheri has every aptly said, "it is not the manwho enjoys sex, it is the sex which enjoys man." The veryfact that is the body that grow old and weak but not the ~ust,

proves that the lust ultimately consumes the body. Highmoral character and meditation on the holy Name aloneassure a strong and healthy body with a clean soul in it.

As against to-day, about a century ago, the people ingeneral used to be very happy. It is because the people thenwere God-fearing and possessed high moral character. TheSikhs, even to-day, may be brave, but they certainly lack thevalour, the virtues, and the virile spirit ofperson like BabaDeep Singh and Baba Gurbax Singh who demonstratedhuman qualities ofcourage and conviction to perfection.


B/JAY SINGH

CHAPTER -XXI

149

As stated in the previous chapter, the affairs of thestate were, then, in a very bad shape. The state officerswere in a fix. If they tried to follow the Begum's orders,then, for days together theyhad to wait for her instructionsand if they acted on their own, then she got so enragedthat she did not hesitate to insult even the highest ofthem.Once when one ofthese officers dared to advise her againstsuch an attitude on her part, he was rebuked and rebuffed.The episode ofBhikhari Khan was still fresh in their minds.Therefore, they sent a joint petition to Delhi against theBegumwithwhom, meanwhile, they refused to cooperate.For the SHills, this was a happy chance which they triedto exploit. They became active once again and tried toassert themselves. For the band (Jatha) ofKarora Singhthis was a rare opportunity to free Bijay Singh. One day,when his followers were assembled in congregation, KaroraSingh presented before them Sheel Kaur and her son andnarrated to them the trials and tribulations through whichthey had to pass for the sake of their 'religion'. He alsorelated to them the story of Bijay Singh and the way hewas upholding his 'Dharma' in the face of the highestof temptations. The Khalsa was all praise for him andresolved to free him immediately, come what may. KaroraSingh himself was of the opinion that despite the weakstate ofthe government, it was not so very easy for themto reach Lahore openly, because in ~hat event, all thefactions ofthe governmentwere boundtojoinhands againstthem. Besides, there was not much time at their disposalto bringtogetherthewhole 'Panth' for the purpose, because


150 BIJAY SINGH

Delhi and Kabul, the two claimants for authority in thisarea, having already been infonned ofthe situation, weresure to exert. Therefore, he advised them to plan £r. such away that they may be able to achieve -their aim at theearliest and with minimum ofloss.

When everybody was thinking about it, Bijay Singh'slittle son got up and greeting the assembly with fo~ded

hands said, "Re~pected sir, would n~t it be better for theSikhs to divide themselves into small groups and reach,incognito, a marshy spot on the Ravi bank, near Lahore,from different directions. On night fall, they may make asudden atack on the fort to free my dear father."

On hearing this, Karora Singh was so pleased thathe similingly hugged the child to his bosom and said,"Blessed is the mother who has given you birth and blessedindeed is your father." Mastan Singh and Dharam Singh,sitting respectively on his right and left, endorsed thissuggestion and then the entire assembly of the Sikhswholeheartedly approved of it.

Now, the Sikhs disguised themselves as Pathans,Mughals, Rajputs, Landlords etc. and left for Lahore insmall groups which assembled near the marshy areas ofriver Ravi. Through their agents, sent for the purpose,they learnt that the entire enemy force had gathered in thegrounds adjoining the tomb of Mian Mir and that therewere only a few guards at the gate ofthe fort and the forcewithin was also nominal. This intelligence was passed onby the same maid who had administered poison to SheelKaur. Ever since then she had been feeling so sorry thatnow she always lent a helping hand to Bijay Singh andapprised him ofthe outside happenings. Today, when shecame out of the fort for some purpose, she went straight


BIJAY SINGH 151

to the blind person staying in the mud hut near 'DehraSahib' of Sri Guru Arj an Dev. Bhai Ramta Singh, a Sikhspy was already there and he immediately took her to hisSardar to whom she passed the above information. Shealso assured him that she would lead them to the roomwhere Bijay Singh was staying.*

As night fell, ten persons appeared suddenly on thegate of the fort and in a sharp skirmish wounded andoverpowered the guards who were caught unawares and socould not offer much resistar.ce. At a coded sound signalfrom them fifty more of their men immediately came upfrom behind and entered the fort. Closely on their heelscame another fifty and placed themselves at the gate, whilea similar number advancing further positioned themselvesfour each, at a distance of every hundred yards. A littledistance away some more oftheir men were lying in waitin order to rush reinforcement at the call ofa whistle. Themaid hurriedly led Mastan Singh and his men to the doorof the room where Bijay Singh was staying. As theylooked into the room through a slit, they saw that it wasthe very picture ofheaven. Spread with rich woollen andvelvet carpets, it was furnished with peacock-feather beds.

The roof inlaid with glass reflected the splendour,while the rich candle stands with burning candles addedto its immense beauty. Beautifd pictures hung fromwalls and the entire room was heavily scented. Four oft-hemost beautiful young women, sat around Bijay Singh,trying to prevail upu;:} him saying, to respond positively tothe Begum's overtures or face dire penalty soon. BijaySingh, remained umnoved and the maids left disappointed.Now, four dark complexioned, dreadful looking persons

* This maid later accepted Sikhism and after baptism, spent thewhole of her life in the service of the Sikh 'sangats'.


_15_2__~ _ BIJAY SINGH

came with naked swords in their hands and surroundedhim. They held out threats to hi1TI, but, the blessed soulrefused !o be over-awed. Mastan Singh was in a great fix.Ifhe tried to advance, Bijay Singh could be killed at onceby the negroes, whi.ie, on the other hand, the delay couldbe disastrous to t~e whole mission. Meanwhile, KaroraSingh also came over there and saw through the slit. Thewise man immediately asked the maid if there was anyother entry to the room. She said, "Yes, there is one bywhich I can enter the room."

Karora Singh: Does the Begum in any way suspectyou?

Maid: No, sir.Karora Singh: Then go to the room immediately and

send away the negroes on some pretext.The maid did likewise and sent away the men saying,

"Make haste and go to the Begum because some strangershave ente!'ed the fo~." As the maid did not invoke anys:lspicion, the negroes haste~ed out of the room. Theyhad hardly turned their back, when Mastan Singh brokeopen the door with the butt of his rifle and entered theroom. :'he very next moment Karora Singh also came inwith the holy words.

"Sayeth Nanak the God's Servant that the Creatorhelped me overcome myriads such material difficulties",

He embraced Bijay Singh and both ofthem came outofthe room. They greeted each other with' Sat Sri Akal' .Mastan Singh and Dharam Singh also embraced him.Bijay Singh also greeted them very warm~y although hewas somewhat bewildered. Because ofthe danger looming large amund them the Sardar ordered an immediate


BIJAY SINGH ----- 153

retreat. As the Sikhs were going back stealthily they sawa couple of soldiers standing in front of a gaol. As theytried to aim their rifles at them, the Sikhs fell upon themand put them to sword. W!lile they were still insidethe fort, they heard sirens and the guns started firingaimlessly.

In great anger, the Begum was shouting loudly. TheSikhs had hardly reached the main gate of the fort whenthree or four search lights were mounted which illuminedeverything. In the light the Turks saw the army ofthe Sikhsheading towards the river. Karora Singh immediately realized that the enemy would resort to cannon fire fromthree or four directions, and it could cause them a greatharm. However, being sure that it would take sometimefor the guns to be loaded, he ordered a quick retreat atwhich, the Sikh squads flew past at a great speed. ByGod's grace the Sikhs were already beyond the range ofthe enemy's cannon fire when it came into action. Verysoon they reached the dense marsh lands passing throughwhich, in the dark hours of the night, the Sikhs tookshelter in a hiding place, a couple of miles away. Theystayed there for the time being and Bijay Singh was reunited with his family. All of them offered prayers ofthanksgiving to God for His help.

Bijay Singh resumed his old duties and Sheel Kaurengaged herself in the service of 'Langer' (free Kitchen).The time being cC:!lparatively of some respite to theSikhs, they lived in peace and comfort. After a very longspell of tortures and tyrannies, the virtuous familyenjoyed a happy time together.


1M- _

CHAPTER·- XXII

B/JAY SINGH

As for the Begum, the moment she learnt about theSikhs' entry into the fort she flew into a rage and took theJamadar (Governor) ofthe fort to task. Although he lost notime in taking suitable action, yet the Sikhs were alreadybeyond his reach. The irateBegum imprisonedthe Jamadarand summoning the rest of the troops camping near thetomb ofMian Mir sent them in hot pursuit of the Sikhs.However, after a fruitless search for two full days, theyalso had to return empty-handed because they could notfind any trace ofthe Sikhs. After a couple ofdays when heranger subsided a bit, she felt very much hurt and distressedat the affront and slip which Bijay Singh had given her.

To add to her anguish she had come to know about thereports that had been sent against her to the Emperor, byher courtiers and consequently was much worried abouther position as a ruler. However, the :lews helped her toregain her manly qualities which had become weak in theface of!3ijay Singh's charms. She once again came intoher ~wn arid firmly asserted her authority saying thatanybody who dared to pose a challenge to her would beannihilated. Calling for her news - .writer she had a letterwritten to Kabul that taking advantage ofher limitationsas a woman, all the Omerahs of her court had becomevery arrogant and were trying to grab political power.They were also plundering the people and were even inleague with the SHills, who, as a result, had once againbecome very active a:I over the country. One day, theseOmerahs had opened the gate of the fort to allow the


BIJAY SINGH 155

Sikhs to enter and the 'Jamadar' had also turned a traitorand joined them. Had she not pGt up a brave flight singlehanded, !:.-ahore would have been lost. They were nowtrying to incite Delhi against her and as such, it would beexpedient to send a competent and honest officer whoshould be willing to work faithfully under her orders.

Hearing this, Abdali flew into a rage and thinkingdecided to sent Jahandar Khan to Lahore at the head ofa force.

Immediately on arrival at Lahore, Jahandar Khan tookthe administration in his hands as the prime minister ofthe Begum. He, however, found himselfin a very difficultsituation because the old and experienced officers wouldjust not co-operate with him, while the new ones werequite incompetent. He worked hard but without muchsuccess. ON the other hand, Sikhs also gave him a veryhard time by creating trouble every where. At places, itbecame difficult to realise the government revenue andwhatever little was collected was looted by ~he Sikhson the way to the treasury. The far flung areas werecompletely under the control of the Sikhs, while thosecloser to the capital were also not safe. On the one handthere was no body to lend a helping hand to :;ahandar Khanand on the other he was handicapped by the Begum'sorders which he had to follow. In great chagrin he wentback after an all too brief stay.* Thus, in spite of all ofthe efforts to stem the root, the conditions in Punjabcontinued to deteriorate. The old ministers who had,to some extent, themselves helped to create thoseconditions were closely watching the situation and weresending reports to Delhi. Ghazi-ud-din who although amere wazir ofthe Delhi Emperor, was the de-facto ruler.

* Kanahya Lal, History p. 78


156 BIJAY SINGH

Taking advantage of the situation he marched towardsLahore with a large force.

When the Begum learnt about it, she immdiatelywrote a letter to Ghazi-ud~din saying !hat he had beenmisled by the Ome~ahs. Sbe was absolutely faithful toDelhi and was prepared to rel~ove any doubts in thisrespect. According to Mohd. Latif, ":t seems that MirMannu, by order to strengthen his position at gelhi court,had before his death, promised his daughter to Ghazi-uddin who still hoped to secure the young lady, though, afterhis death, both she and her mother were extremely averseto it." When Ghazi-ud··din had first ~eard about the ar..archy at Lahore, he sent Sayad Jamil to help the Begum inthe administration of the State. When JamB introducedcertain refoer.s, the Omerahs feeling unsure ofhis bonafides, cor..spired to :'..lm him against the Begum. Theymanaged to have all the erstwhiie state officers reinstatedto their origbal positions, and sent such damaging reportsagainst the Begum to Ghazi· ud-din that he turned deadagainst her. When she requested him to withdraw Jamil, herefused to ob~ige her. Thereupon, the Beg'..lm made arepresentation to the Abdali king against the maltreatmentmeted to her at the hands ofDe!hi.* When Ghazi-ud-dinlearnt about the Begum's hobnobbing with Kahul, hehimselfmarched against Lahore, accompanied by MirzaAli Gohar, the elder son ofthe Alamgir. Reaching Machhiwara, the Wazir opened negotiations with the Begumfor his marriage to her daughter and, with a handful offollowers, advanced towards Lahore, as ifto celebrate themarriage. The Begum was completely taken in by this

_... r _

* According to Kanahya Lal, the Begum herself went to Kabulfor the purpose, but from other sources, it does not appear tobe correct.


B/JAY SINGH 157

move. He entered the city on the pretext of solemnizingthe marriage but at once took charge of t!1e city and itsfort and assumed the reins ofpower. It was too late whenthe Begum realized that she had been turned a prisoner inher own palace.

She, however, refused to give him her daughter inmarriage, and the Ghazi stripped her of her rank andtitle and deported her to Delhi as a state prisoner. 1

The government ofLahore was entrusted by the Wazir toAdina Beg for a tribute of thirty lakhs of rupees. Onreaching Machhiwara, the Begum succeeded in winningover the support of Prince Ali Gohar who pleaded withGhazi-ud-din for the reinstatement ofhis mother-in-law.He was, however, adamant and continued to maltreat herin every possible way. On her way to Delhi, the incensedmother-in-law cursed Ghazi-ud-din for his treachery andprophesied the fall oftheir Empire at the hands ofAbdali.

On coming to know of the occupation of Lahoreby the Delhi Government. Abdali descended upon thealready ravaged and plundered State ofthe Punjab in 1873Bikrami (1170 Hijri or 1756 A.D.) at the head of astrong Afghan force? Sayad Jamil and Adina Beg ran

I. Umad-ut-Twarikh.2. Most probably Murad Begum had promised to marry her

daughtertoAbdali'sson.Besides,shewashisregentatLahore.Assuch,hefeltinsultedatGhazi-ud-din's actionanddecidedtopunishDelhi. All Persian records, including Latif, endorse these views,but Kanahya Lal does not agree. The arrival of Jahandar fromKabul, theBegum'spersonalvisittoKabul andthe engagementofGhazi-ud-din are disputed by some sources. But Jamil's stay atLahore and his strained relations with Begum are accepted byevery author as true. However, it is an established historical factthatthe Begum had incited Abdal i's invasion, because Ghazi-uddin had persecuted herand had robbed her ofher throne at Lahoreand thathewas atDelhi duringAbdal i's invasion.


158-~--

B/JAY SINGH

away at the approach ofAbdali. Adina Beg sought refugewith the hi~l-chieftains. The Sikhs Sardars, finding theirdominions c:oser to Abdali route, also retired to thesafety ofthe woods, ~hereby, giving a free passage to him.Taking ho~d ofLahore he s:.lbjected its Omerahs to ruthless plunder and Chuhar "YIa~ was also one ofthe victims.*Leaving the rule ofLahore and Jalandhar in the hands ofMir Munzan and Raja Nasir A~i respectively, he himselfleft for Delhi.

Instead of giving him a flight, Alamgir II receivedDin: with a war!TI hos~ita:ity or. his arrival at Delhi.

Now, Ghazi-ud~din, aii"aid ofsaving his shin made upwith the Begum, thro:.lgh the good offices of prince AliGohar. She even interceded on his behalfwith the invader

* During the plunder ofhis house Chuhar Mal himselfgot killed.His elderson had already been imprisoned by the Begum. As forthe poor mother, having been betrayed and plundered by thefamily priest (the government infor:ner) she went to Amritsarand engaged herself in service at Haenandir Sahib. Pundit, theGovt. informer, meanwhiIe, cO:1tinue to p~ospe~.DuringAbdali 'sreturn march to Lahore after plundering Delhi, the Sikhs hadrelieved him of as much booty as they codd. On his arrival atLahore he issued orders for the eradication ofthe S:khs and forthis purpose sought secret informatior. about them throughagents. As he himself was in a hurry to go to Turkistan, tosuppress a rebellion there, he ordered his son, Tymur Shah, topunish the Sikhs for the excesses they had co:nmitted. DuringTymur's reign the Pundit used to sapply bformation aga:nstthem. Once he reported the presence of about fifty Sikhs in acertain jungle, at which an ar~y of about hundred Turks wassel~t against them. The Sikhs t:lrned-outto be about five hunrdedstrong and the Tur~s suffered a big loss. A~ this, Tymur cha:-gedthe Pundit with giving delIberately wrong information andexecuted him after subjecting his ~ouse to plunder. Thus, theinformer met his end at the hands ofthosevery personswhom heused to serve in his evil ways.


B/JAY SINGH 159

and had him pardoned. Nevertheless, he had to pay avery handsome tribute ofmillions ofrupees. Many otherOmerahs also met with a similar treatment at the hands ofcruel and avaricious Abdali. He demanded ninety lakhs ofrupees from Intizam-ud-doula, who expressed his inability to pay such a heavy amount. However, after a search ofhis house, three times more amount was recovered fromhim. Then, on the infonnation supplied by the Begum, thehouse ofShohlapuri Begum, wife ofKamur-ud-din wasalso searched and cash, ornaments andjewels worth severallakhs ofrupees were found and seized. The avariciousShah's thirst for riches and wealth was not yet satiated,greater calamities were still in store for the unfortunatepeople of Delhi. Having extorted all he could from theOmerahs ofthe State, he ordered the town to be pillaged.The Shah remained at Delhi for two months, during whichperiod the unfortunate capital was systematically plundered. He then laid siege proceeding then to Balabgarh, astrong fort, and put the garrison to sword. Proceedingthen to Mathura, he fell upon the city while the peoplewere celebrating one oftheir religious festivals, and hadthem slaughtered without any quarters being shown toanyone. Their rich and spacious temples were razed toground and hundreds ofHindus were carried into slavery.The tyrant next advanced to Agra, where he unleasheddeath and devastation throughout the territory ofthe Jats.As if in divine retribution cholera broke out among theranks of Abdali. He had also come to know of the Sikhdisturbances in Punjab. He, therefore, returned to Delhiwhere he married his son 1ymur to the grand-daughterof Mohammad Shah and himself formed a matrimonialalliance with Hazarat Begum, the younger daughter oftheEmperor. Having then levied a heavy indemnity on the


160 B/JAY SINGH

emperor Alamgir, he reinstated him on the throne ofhisancestors and appointed. Intizarn-ud-doula and Najib-uddoula to the posts of grand Wazir and commander-inchiefrespectively. On reaching Lahore from Delhi. Abdaliappointed his son Tymur as its ruler. He wanted to punishthe Sikhs but could not do so because it was very difficultto deal with the Sikhs and also due to disturbances inTurkistan he was anxious to go back immediately. Thus,according to Elphinston, the cause of spoilation andruin which had been commenced by Nadir Shah wasconsummated by Ahmed Shah.

Thus, while avenging herself on her enemies, theMurad Begum subjected hundreds ofthousands ofthoseinnocentpeople also to untold tortures and tyrannies, whohad never caused her any harm. But how about, her ownend? Most ofthe records are silent about it. According tosome, she was also one of the victims of the cholerainfection, while others thinks that she was killed throughslow poisoning at the hands ofOmerahs who had sufferedbecause ofher machinations. This then was the hopelessend ofthe 'Begum ofHopes ' (Murad Begum). Divested ofher charm and craft, power and pelf, she met with a veryverywretched end.


B/JAY SINGH

CHAPTE"'R - XXIII

161

At the news ofAhmed Shah's mTival in India, SayadJamil had run away to Delhi. During his flight he fellmany a time victim of the Sikh guerillas attacks whichmauled him very severely and deprived him of much ofhis wealth. However, somehow, he managed to save hisskin from these lions and reach Delhi in great distress.There was now a political vacuum in the country andtaking fu!l advantage, ofthis fluid state the Sikhs spreadthemselves far and wide. Karora Singh's was one of theleading Sikh bands (Jathas) those days. As said earlier, atthe time of the arrival of Abdali in India, the sikhs hadretired to woods and hill fastnesses, and allowed him toreach Lahore without any resistance. After plundering thetown he had gone to Delhi. Nazir-ud-din, whom hehad installed as the governor ofJalandhar, now began topersecute the Sikhs. He would arrest innocent people intheir villages and put them to sword. The Sikhs couldnot stand this cruelty and, < ~g!TIing out of their hidingplaces, engaged a big army of the Turks, led by NazirAli, Shams Khan and Jafar Khan etc. near Adamwal. Avery bitter battle was waged in which both sides lostheavily, according to Panth Parkash, Tara Singh Gaiba,Karora Singh, Karam Singh, lai Singh, Charat Singh,Jassa Singh, Baghat Singh, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia etc.were conspicuous for their feats of valour. By the graceofthe Guru, each ofthe Sikhs humbled as many as ten ofthe enemy ranks. Said Khan and Jaffar Khan etc. werekilled on the battle field and collecting a large booty, theSikhs crossed river Beas to safety.

------ -- ---


162 BIJAY SINGH

During the course of this battle, Bijay Singh gotsurrounded by ten of the enemy troops with whom hehad been fighting all alone. Although he succeeded inkilling five ofthem yet, he received many wounds on hisperson. Seeing this, Nasir Ali reached there with a freshcontingent. Bijay Singh would have been killed but for thetimely arrival there ofJassa Singh with some ofhis menwho happened to have seen him. A very bitter fight wasthen fought in which swords clashed with swords, becausethere was no time to take them on the shields. Totallyunmindful ofthe wounds inflicted on their persons, thesebrave sons of Guru fought with rare zeal and passion. Inthis battle about a dozen Sikhs were seriously wounded,while Nasir Ali was left with only three of his men. Atthis he rode away from the battle field at great speed andthe moment he turned his back the entire enemy forcetook to its heels. After pursuing the enemy for somedistance, the Sikhs crossed the river. Their only aim wasto allow no respite to Abdali, to strike terror among hisranks and to ensure the safety oftheir own brethren. JassaSingh examined the wounded and carried those of themwith him who had still some life left in them, whilecremating those who had died. Thereafter, he too crossedriver Beas.

Halting at a place on the other side of the river,the Sikhs took stock of their wounded companions andexamined them closely and carefully. Sheel Kaur alongwithher sisters-in-Faith tended their wounds with the help ofother Singhs. Hardly had they finished their job, whenBijay Singh reached there. Having been left behind, hereached there last of all. He appeared to be in great painand as he tried to alight from his horse, he fell flat on theground, in a state ofunconsciousness. Sheel Kaur and one


'BIJAY SINGH 163

ofthe Sikhs, Raghooraj Singh, by name, lifted him up andlaid him down at a quiet place. One ofthe Singhs hastenedto bring some water, while Sheel Kaur and RaghoorajSingh tried to find the cause ofhis trouble. His face wasturning paler and his pulse was growing weaker everymoment. As water was being sprinkled on his face, KaroraSingh and Jassa Singh also reached there. Bijay Singhopened his eyes and said in a very feeble voice, "Blessedindeed is God." When Jassa Singh asked him about thecause of his trouble, he placed his hand on his chest.Underneath his shirt, they found a piece of cloth tiedtightly round his chest. As they untied it, they found a padofcloth placed on a deep wound, on removing which theblood gushed forth from the wound as a fountain andbesmeared all around.

As the wound started bleeding, Bijay Singh lost allconsciousness. Everybody was in a great panic. The clothpad was immediately replaced and held there tightly, whilea couple ofSingh brought a doctor from a nearby village.Tending the wound and fining it with some medicine, hedressed it properly. It was clear that even after receivingthe wound, Bijay Singh had kept on fighting as a result ofwhich some of the veins close to the heart had beenruptured, because ofwhich it was now difficult to controlthe bleeding.

Nevertheless, the village doctor administered storaxand some other elixir to Bijay Singh, as result of whichhe opened his eyes. He now hugged his dear child, kissedhis forehead and blessed him thus, "May you ever upholdthe glory ofyour Faith." Sheel Kaur, was gently massaging his feet and an unending stream oftears was flowingdown her cheeks. Summoning her closer, Bijay Singh,embraced her with the blessings, "May the Lord ever help


164 BIJAY SINGH

you to uphold your honour and your Faith." Thereafter, hegreeted every Sardar in a very feeble voice. In great agony,Sheel Kaur said, "How would I be able to live alone afteryou?" Bijay Singh consoled her saying, "God shall ever bewith you, yea, every hour and every moment ofyour lifeyou will be blessed with His grace". Then, he asked her torecite Japji. Wiping her tears and resigning herselfto theWill of God, Sheel Kaur began to recite Japji in a verysweet voice. Meanwhile, Bijay Singh's breathing, becameslower and slower and his eyes began to close. The Sardarswere watching their brother-in-Faith, with their mindsattuned to God. The wound continued to bleed despite ofevery effort to control it. As Shed Kaur began to recitethe last 'Shaloka', Bijay Singh gently raised both of hishands and joining them, heartily greeted everybody. Exactly when Sheel Kaur had uttered the words:

"Those who meditate His Name,true1y do they toil,

Nanak, their being is radiant,and, many others do they save."

Bijay Singh joined her in reciting thrice the holywords, "Many others do they save many others do theysave......many other do they save " Thereafter, hesaid, in complete devotion, "Blessed is the Lord ofaigrette (Guru Gobind Singh) and blessed is the holySA.NGAT(holyAssembly) Blessed Blessed .Blessed."

The effort involved in uttering these words madeblood gush forth from his wound with such force that BijaySingh's body beca!1le still. His hands fell on his chest andhis eyes and lips were closed for ever. Shee1 Kaur had been


B/JAY SINGH 165

watching the life slowly ebbing away reciting, all the time,the holy words, "many others do they save "

Her gaze was fixed, her face expressing the agony ofher soul losing its glow. She saw Bijay Singh breathe hislast. Her head fell on his chest with the holy words, "Manyothers do they save," on her lips and thus the last breath ofthe faithful wife mingled with that ofher husband. Thus,like a true wife Sheel Kaur stood by her husband in loveand in faith, both here and hereafter:

"Nanak, they alone are true'Satis' , who die with the sheershock ofseparation."All glory to Sheel Kaurwho was the very embodiment

oftidelity and love. She proved with her life that husbandand wife, though different in bodies, are one in soul.

Karora Singh hastened to lift the head of her sister,but where was she? His sister had gone with her husband.There were tears in the eyes of the bravest of the braveand everybody sat in silence. No one spoke or moved andall were choked with emotion. There tears were neitherfor expressing unthankfulness nor for non-acceptance ofthe God's Will, but a homage to the ideal couple who hadlived and died as true Sikhs.

Says Nanak, he alone wails trudyWho wails in Lord's Love.Bijay Singh's son who had been orphaned all of a

sudden was in tears and bewildered. Lifting him up in hislap, Karora Singh tried to console andcaress him. Althoughthe child had passed through many trials and tribulationsand had received enough training at the hands of hisparents, yet, their sudden death was too much for him. He


166 BIJAY SINGH

was very much touched by the love and words ofconsolations shown to him. Very gently he placed his head on thebodies ofhis parents and in great anguish uttered the words,

"Mother dearest, why have you, today, taken the cupofpoison all alone ---."

Jassa Singh took the little child aside and tried toconsole him. All through the night, holy Scriptures wererecited with the deepest of devotion. On day break, thebodies were cremated with great respect and the ashesthereafter were immersed in the river Beas. Bijay Singh'sson later turned out to be a great hero. Karora Singhbrought him up like his own son and trained him to be aworthy son of the Panth. In whose service he performedmany a heroic deed.


bijay sin~gh...devindersingh dugaal lvi.a (ilislol"))_ tvli\.. (economics) 194, udhamsinghnagar...

Documents